Megaman NT Warrior: Requiem's Return
by Pharaohs Queen
Summary: 4 years have passed since the events in 'Requiem's Awakening.' Technology has advanced, and our favorite group is testing a portal that will allow Navis and NetOps to exist in the same world. But there are some who want this technology for themselves... [rated T for violence in later chapters]
1. Prologue:  Partners

Megaman NT Warrior: Requiem's Return

By: Pharaohs Queen

Prologue

"Partners"

_Isn't it funny how time passes, and things change, but yet, they don't?_

A NetNavigator was sitting by herself on top of a giant cube of data. This cube was floating high above the UnderNet, but she could clearly see the things that were happening on the ground below her. Shadowy shapes passed back and forth, shadowy deals were made in dark corners, and those same corners hid other dark acts.

The Navi frowned, and sighed to herself. _After all the work I have done these four years, things here have changed, but remained the same._

She had a suspicion that she could do something to drastically change everything, that there was some hidden power deep within her that not even she or her creator knew about.

But her partner would not let her do anything about the filth below her.

_"There is a reason the UnderNet is like this."_ She could hear the echoes of his whispery words perfectly in her head. _"There may come a time to change it, but that time is not yet. Learn patience, and you will see."_

She sighed again, watching as one Navi deleted another down below, the deleted data vanishing into tiny blue cubes.

Perhaps he was right. She had learned about the balance there needed to be in all things, including the Net.

But still, she felt the need to do something good.

She blinked, then jumped off the cube, falling quickly and silently through the UnderNet, her bright red hair streaming behind her. She landed in a quiet crouch, right behind the Navi she had just been watching. He was digging greedily through a bag the one he had deleted had been carrying.

She took a breath through her nose, composing herself, and put on her best sinister, uncaring smirk. She had learned this look from her partner.

"I saw you do that." She said quietly.

The Navi was good, for someone his level. He whipped around, bringing a large gun he had been hiding to bear on her, and fired rapidly. She simply stood, letting her newly powerful shield absorb the impact.

_I've been hit harder._ She thought to herself.

The smoke cleared, and she thought she cut an imposing figure with her billowing hair and flapping cloak. Her hands remained hidden in the folds of the fabric, but her profile was one well known through the UnderNet.

The other Navi gasped when he saw her still standing, finally recognizing who she was.

"You… but… you're…!" He choked out.

Swiftly, she flew at him, pinning him on the ground with her hand squeezing his neck tightly. "You know who I am." She stated quietly, her face just a few inches above the other. "You think you know what I'm capable of." She let the corners of her mouth turn up in a small, wicked grin. "If I catch you here, dealing the same dark business of theft and death, I will hunt you and your NetOp down, and you both will wish you had never been created." She gave a significant pause, and squeezed his neck hard enough that he started de-rizzing beneath her fingers.

He coughed. "I… promise…"

"Very well." She replied, standing and lifting him by the throat. She held him high, grinned once more at him, and threw him to the ground. He skid to the edge of the alleyway, gave her a frightened look, and scampered away.

She held her smirk for a moment longer, then closed her eyes and let out a deep breath.

"You should have killed him."

She didn't turn to face the familiar speaker. "You know I don't have the heart to go killing needlessly like you do."

"Hm," was the reply.

They stood silently for a long while. She was looking down the alley at the direction the Navi had left. She could feel his hard gaze on the back of her head.

"Things are changing." He said suddenly, quietly. "Can you feel it?"

She nodded, finally turning to face her partner.

She marveled whenever she really looked at him—she could feel the power crackling beneath the surface of his exterior, and she was familiar with it, as she shared some of that same power. Looking into his face was almost like looking in a mirror, but she felt she didn't have the same hate-filled glare that he did.

"Something is happening in the world of the humans." He continued. "It will change things here, and in the Net as well."

"What are we going to do?"

He started to walk down the alley, and she fell into step next to him. "For now, we will observe. I am not sure how this change will affect us… but we should know always what is happening in our world."

She nodded, and together, they launched themselves into the air, capes flapping behind them. They traveled quietly, as they often did, but a question she had been thinking about burst out of her lips.

"Bass, do you think it has anything to do with my creator?"

Bass stopped suddenly, and she flew past him; she quickly flew in reverse, and stopped by his side, trying to hide the anxiousness on her face.

His face was carefully blank, which was unusual for him. "I do not know, Requiem." He finally responded. Glancing up, Bass met his copy's eye. "But if so, things will get very interesting very quickly."

She nodded, and tried to keep her own face blank, but she couldn't help but nurture a small bubble of hope in her chest.

Requiem had longed to go back to see her creator, but Bass had been forbidding it all this time, insisting that she become stronger and more like him before they confronted the humans again. But now… she could maybe go meet her creator, and finally learn more about herself. Requiem was curious, and wanted to know more about her creator… and especially her Navi. But she couldn't let Bass know that at all. He would get angry.

They took off again for another corner of the UnderNet. Requiem kept her thoughts to herself and Bass doing the same things. The silence was comfortable between them. They would talk when they needed to.

This change would come when it did, and they would be ready to adapt to it, like they always did.

* * *

><p>Ah. Little did I realize how much I missed this universe.<p>

Enjoy!

Next time: oh look, these characters are familiar… heh.

Leave a review please! ^^


	2. Questionable Code

Megaman NT Warrior: Requiem's Return

Chapter 1

"Questionable Code"

April stood outside her apartment watching the clouds zoom closer. They were moving fast, causing the light to disappear faster. She stood by the railing in front of her door, her hands in her pockets. The wind that was coming with the clouds whipped her black SciLab coat around her legs, and her hair around her head. Her hair had grown longer in the past four years, but was still as bright as ever. The wind brushed her bangs around too, revealing the round metal plate set in the right side of her face.

"You look quite dramatic with your coat flapping about like that, you know. Would you like some appropriate background music?"

April grinned, turning to face the screen set into the wall next to her door. "Quite dramatic, isn't it?" She said in a fancy dialect, throwing her arm out and swooshing her coat. "I could be in the movies, don't you think?"

The Navi on the screen sniggered. "With a terrible voice like that, no."

April stuck her tongue out. "Oh shut it Nocturne. You think you're so funny."

He grinned and winked at her. "You know I am."

"Bah." She replied, waving her hand and walking back to the door. "I wasn't aware that you were programmed to be funny."

Nocturne disappeared from the screen outside and reappeared on one of the monitors on April's desk. A couple of years ago, she had finally saved up enough money to get a set of three top-of-the-line monitors, and she _loved_ them. They made writing multiple program layers _so_ much easier.

"Ah, but you enjoy my humor anyway."

April brushed some socks off her chair and kicked a pillow and a pair of pants towards the table so she would have enough room to roll around on her chair, and slid into the comfy seat. "You know I do." She replied, tapping the screen to the left of Nocturne and bringing up her to-do lists. Each list was attached to a certain project, though there was one list with her day-to-day things. She frowned as she flipped through the pages.

"How did my grocery list get in here…?"

Nocturne shook his head. Even when April was trying to be organized, she was messy. It irritated him a little bit, but he had gotten used to it over the years.

He watched as April moved things around, grumbling as she added more items than took off, and smiled as she sat back.

"Lots to do?" He asked.

She just scowled. "Isn't there always? I thought it would get better after I was finished with school… guess not." She sighed. She sat for a moment, eyes closed, then suddenly sat forward, tapping the screen, putting all her lists away and pulling out the remains of an old program she had written several years ago.

Nocturne swallowed a front and tried not to wince at the pang in his chest as he noticed what the program was. It was the beginning data for , the independent NetNavi program April had written and finished four years ago. Ever since Nocturne had found Requiem, but had been unable to bring her back, April had been trying to reconstruct the program as completely as she could, so she could at least show her grandfather what she had been like.

"April, perhaps you should go get some dinner." He suggesting, stepping over on the screen so he was hiding the program from her.

She frowned at him. "Nocturne, please don't try to distract me. I feel I'm getting close to breaking through on this programming."

Nocturne didn't say anything, but he didn't move. He knew that Requiem's program could not be duplicated—the existence of two copies that powerful would not allow each other to exist. He had told April this, but she wouldn't listen. He couldn't explain how he knew, but he had learned this when he had touched Requiem's core data stream all those years ago.

April glared at him, and he sighed, relenting and stepping to the side, wishing her could make her understand.

Suddenly, something flat and heavy whacked him on the back, sending him sprawling and starting stars dancing across his vision.

"Ah, ah, ah, you shouldn't ever lose your focus Nocturne! That can be deadly you know!"

Nocturne stretched his back and rolled over. "You are gonna be the deletion of me some day Tomahawkman!" He shouted, scowling furiously at the Indian Navi grinning there. In the real world, April was laughing her head off.

Tomahawkman winked cheerily at Nocturne, offering his hand to the downed Navi. "Aw, don't feel so bad about it. You're helping me with my sneaking skills!"

Nocturne just shook his head, rubbing his back over his shoulder. "Couldn't you work on your sneaking skills without trying to take me apart? Or practice on Megaman or Protoman. They'll give you a challenge."

"Here's an email for April from Dingo." Tomahawkman hurriedly changed the subject, pulling out a small data square and handing it to the dark purple Navi. Nocturne took it and threw it towards April's screen, where it opened automatically.

She sighed out loud as she read it. "Tell your NetOp," she addressed Tomahawkman, "that he's a showoff. And tell him this too." She stuck out her tongue and pulled at her bottom eyelid.

It was Nocturne's turn to laugh. "Did he figure that bug out?"

April seemed to be steaming. "He figured it out by blasting it apart!"

Tomahawkman was sporting a sheepish grin. "That's usually how we solve things in the military, you know."

"I don't care!" April all but shrieked. "Do you know how _long_ it took me to write that program in the first place?"

This time, it was Nocturne's turn to laugh. "You should know better than to send complicated programming to them April."

"Hey!" Tomahawkman shouted indignantly. "Just because we're not fancy programmers like the rest of you—"

"Relax, relax Tomahawkman." Nocturne laughed as he dodged several ax swings from the other Navi. "I tease. We're glad you guys are still in the lab. It keeps things interesting."

This banter continued comfortably for several minutes until Tomahawkman finally left, bearing a warning email from April, to stop destroying her codes.

"Here April." Nocturne pulled a program from the computer's giant block of data. "Here's the original code. Try looking at it again."

She sighed, spreading her fingers on the screen to widen the window so she could get a closer look at the tiny type.

"Why am I doing this off the clock?" She wondered out loud, looking for what could just be a single letter out of place. Something tiny like that could set the whole program out of whack, and keep it from doing what it was supposed to.

Nocturne stepped behind her window to take a look at the program himself, not that he hadn't done that several times over the past few days.

"Maybe it's not complete?" He suggested.

She shook her head. "But I've put in everything I want the code to do. Why would it need more?"

Nocturne shrugged. "I'm not sure. But it might work. Suggest that to Dr. Hikari tomorrow. He might know something about exactly what this code is supposed to do that we don't."

April nodded. This project that they were working on was something that Dr. Hikari had everyone in his lab writing. Apparently, this code was huge, so Dr. Hikari had broken it down into several parts, telling each person what their part was supposed to do; but apparently he was the only one who knew what the whole code itself was supposed to do and how each part was to work together.

April sighed and closed the window. "Maybe ours relies on another part to work the right way. I don't understand why he's being so secretive about this…"

Nocturne shrugged again. "Perhaps he wants to surprise everyone? Let's show it to him tomorrow and explain what's going on."

"Yeah, good idea." April rested a hand on her stomach as it gurgled loudly. "Dinner and relaxing sounds good right about now."

Nocturne nodded and stretched. They would figure things out tomorrow, with help from everyone else.

* * *

><p>I think NaNoWriMo is helping me to post faster. What do you think, hm?<p>

Next time: we might probably find out what this project is that the whole lab is working on

Leave a review please!


	3. What's in the Glass Box?

Chapter 2

"What's In the Glass Box?"

April sat at a computer terminal at work, nervously tapping her fingers on the top of a disk. The other six lab assistants, including Chaud, Dingo, and Lan, were sitting at their own terminals. Dr. Hikari was in the front of the room, standing in front of a large, empty glass box—at least as big as April's room—and a large screen was active above it.

"I feel like I'm back in lectures…" April muttered to Nocturne, who sniggered.

"Almost all of you have come to me with complaints about the programs you are supposed to be writing" Dr. Hikari began, "and let me reassure you, your programs will have bugs in the state they are in, as none of them are entirely complete."

April felt her eyebrow rise. She glanced at Nocturne, who was doing his best to not look smug.

"Since all of you are as finished as you are going to be," continued Dr. Hikari, "it's time to put the code together. Theoretically, we should have a gigantic working program with only a few minor bugs that need to be ironed out.

"Shall we?"

April glanced over at Chaud, who shrugged. Seven NetOps loaded their program data and passed them off to the seven Navis. They gathered together, spread out the data, and started assembling it, with directions from the NetOps. It took a little bit of puzzle work and testing to figure out what codes solved other code's bugs, but they had finally managed to piece it all together by lunch time.

Dr. Hikari, who had been watching closely the whole time, broke into a broad smile.

"Excellent work, all of you! Now, why don't you all go get some lunch? When you come back in a couple of hours, we should be able to explain just what you all did."

They all exchanged an irritated glance about continuing to be left in the dark, but they all logged out and left to go to lunch.

"Ah!" April stretched, feeling something in her back crack. "Well… at least that part of the project is done." She said to Chaud, logging Nocturne out of the system and putting her PET in its pouch. "There's no need to stress over incomplete code anymore."

Chaud nodded. "I had been worried that something was wrong and missing from mine… I guess we all had the same thoughts?"

The other programmers nodded as the elevator doors shut behind them.

Right away, Dingo turned to Lan with a big grin on his face. "So, Lan, wanna tell us what's up?"

Lan rolled his eyes at Dingo. "Yeah, like you think my dad told me."

"I'm pretty sure he did."

Lan shook his head. "No, he didn't even tell me what this thing is supposed to do."

"Well," Dingo put his hand on his chin, as if he were stroking an imaginary beard, "the program obviously has something to do with that glass box in the lab now."

"But what happens when you put someone or something in that glass box?" Spoke up one of the other three programmers. Hideaki was his name, April remembered, and he was the youngest of the group and the newest to join, but that didn't make him any less smart.

Naeva, the only other girl on the team, nodded. "Perhaps it might be best to wait until we get back? Dr. Hikari did say he would tell us…" She was a quiet girl, and wasn't very fond of conflict in any of its incarnations.

"But I want to know now!" Lan and Dingo practically shouted at the same time.

"You still don't have any patience, do you Hikari?" Chaud needled the boy in a low voice, but there was a hint of teasing in his voice.

Lan, in turn, rounded on Chaud. "What's that got to do with anything, huh?"

April cracked a smile, one finger repeatedly pushing the "Lobby" button out of habit. "Now now boys, let's not tear each other up before we are able to eat something, hm?"

They ignored her, continuing their good-natured bickering back and forth until they reached the lobby. April managed to catch the eye of the Jie, one of the new programmers, who simply shrugged at her.

The group argued for a while, trying to decide where they should eat in celebration of the completion of a project, until Jie suggested his family's restaurant, where they served the best food and they could get a discount as well.

They ate and were able to find other things to talk about—besides the mysterious project—enough to fill up their two hours given to eat. As they headed back to SciLab, the talking slowed and ceased once they entered the elevator, everyone (even the Navis) wrapped up in their own thoughts about what they were going to find out.

Dr. Hikari was at his own computer, next to the glass box, when they walked into the lab.

"Ah, good, you're all back." He glanced up at them over the rim of his glasses. "I'm just finishing up here. If you all would gather around?"

They logged their Navis in and gathered around the box.

Dr. Hikari pushed his glasses up his nose, putting them back in the right place, and smiled at them. "I suppose you all have been wondering what you have been working on."

Nobody said anything, but there was an air of general assent.

Dr. Hikari tapped something on his screen, and the screen above the box lit up. On it, there were two revolving humanoid figures without faces or detail.

"This is a new technology that's going to revolutionize human/Navi interaction. Within in this box you see here, we'll be able to effectively remove the barrier between real life and the Net."

The group burst out into murmurs between themselves and their Navis. All were excited, but many, especially the three new ones, sounded nervous.

Dr. Hikari smiled and waved his hand, quieting the noise. "This certainly has surprised you, I can tell. But, we don't know if it works yet."

"_How_ does it work?" Jie piped up.

"Well, to put it simply, your program will essentially make the human and the Navi the same being. Now, if a human were to step into the Net, they couldn't fully interact with the things around them. They have to be connected to their Navi to fight or feel pain or touch things. This little glass box—which I haven't decided a name for it yet—creates a sort of 'no man's land' between the Net and the real world. The Navi and their NetOp become one being, then are split into their own personalities, but they are made up of the same stuff—part flesh, part programming."

April started tracing the metal plates around her eye.

"At least, that's the theory." Dr. Hikari admitted, hiding his sheepishness by playing with something on the screen. "Nothing like this has ever been tested or even attempted before, and what we're creating is just the very beginning. It's possible this may not even be safe to show the public within several decades. But, that's what experimentation is for."

He smiled and nodded. "Well? Who wants to go first?"

"We will!" Lan and Megaman had jumped up and shouted in unison. April smiled slightly and shook her head.

_No matter what the risks are, those two are always eager and willing._

Lan's father smiled too. "I thought you guys might be the ones to volunteer. Here Lan, step inside the box here…" He pushed something on the screen and a small door popped open on the side; the box must have been manufactured well—it didn't look like there had been any openings at all on it.

"Megaman," Dr. Hikari turned to the computer screen, "step into the program here."

April blinked, tilting her head. _Huh. So _that's_ what he did to our program_. It had been reformed and solidified so that it looked like a steel-ly version of the glass box Lan was now standing in.

"And if you two will stand right on the center dot there… yes, that's good, right there. Now, hold your arms straight out to the sides; I'm going to count down then start the program, and I need you to yell out if something starts to hurt or feel like you're being town into millions of pieces."

"That's reassuring to hear." Chaud muttered in April's ear. He had slid around over to where she was standing while everybody was concentrating on Lan. She smiled and slipped her hand in his.

"Well, he's certainly got guts, that's for sure." She whispered back, and they turned their attention back to the glass box and the big screen above it.

The screen was still showing the same rotating figures as before, but half of the screen was now showing Megaman in the program box.

"Are you ready Lan? Megaman?"

"Aw, yeah!" Lan pumped his fist.

"Let's go!" Megaman shouted, sounded excited.

Dr. Hikari grinned again. "Then the program will begin in five… four… three… two… one… Begin!"

A white bar of light appeared at the top of each box, humming quietly. It slowly made its way down the box and back up to the top; as it did, Lan's and Megaman's figures filled the rotating ones on the large screen above the box.

Dr. Hikari was concentrating heavily on the screen in front of him. His smile was gone, and his face was tight as he adjusted some things on the screen. "Here's where it gets difficult…" He breathed, frowning at the screen, then fine-tuned something there.

The white bars of light reached the tops of the boxes, and an odd, dark purple light-type stuff oozed over the boxes, hiding Lan and Megaman from view.

April could feel Chaud's fingers tighten in her grip. She glanced at him and saw that his face was as tight as Dr. Hikari's, but not showing as much worry.

_Then again, he hardly ever shows any emotion_. She thought, slightly amused to herself, and turned her attention back to the glass box.

The purple stuff had started being drawn toward the center, as though it were attracted to a giant magnet. It was swirling faster, and was going faster, and glowing darkly. Dr. Hikari was holding his breath, watching the box with his son in it.

The purple stuff had all been pulled off the walls, spinning fast. It started to separate into two separate spheres, and then began to form into a figure. Everybody leaned close, trying to see what was being formed, when the stuff suddenly emitted a harsh, bright light.

Everybody cried out, hands over their eyes as they were suddenly blinded by the flash. It took them all a moment before they were able to finally see again, but there were still dots dancing in everybody's vision.

April's false eye cleared before her real eye, so she could see before everyone. Inside the glass box were two figures—they looked like young adult males. The box that Megaman had just been standing in was empty. They were standing there, looking at each other; then they lowered their gazes and stared at their hands. They were identical, save that one had brown hair, and the other had blue hair.

"Megaman?" Asked the brown-haired one.

"Lan?" Asked the blue-haired one. Their voices sounded odd, like a mix between the two who had gone in, but one was unmistakably Lan, and the other just as unmistakably Megaman.

Dr. Hikari rubbed his eyes hard behind his glasses, trying to get his eyes back to normal. He pulled his hands away, blinked rapidly several times, and looked at the glass box. He gave a whoop just as sudden as the flash of light had been, and startled everyone in the lab. "Lan? Megaman? How are you feeling?"

"This feels weird." The two said in unison. It was creepy to hear them talk at the same time.

Dr. Hikari was grinning broadly. "I'm sure it does, and you two have been through some strange things together. Why don't you try to shake hands?"

Lan and Megaman looked at each other, shrugged, and reached their hands out.

"OW!"

A giant spark erupted from where they made contact, and they both grabbed their hands back, rubbing their palms.

"Ah… oops." Was all Dr. Hikari said, and Chaud rolled his eyes. The doctor turned to his screen, moved some things around and adjusted others. "Try it again."

Lan and Megaman exchanged another look, then reached out. There was a series of small sparks, and they drew apart again.

Dr. Hikari was frowning. "Hm… what could be causing that? Build up in the system maybe? Or in the process of…" he trailed off, frowning down at his screen. He muttered to himself for a moment, then turned back to the boys in the glass box, who were happily chatting with each other. "Boys, I'm going to reverse it now. Again, just yell out if something feels unnatural."

They nodded, and returned to the poses they had started in. The entire process ran in reverse—including the bright flash and the purple ooze stuff being attracted to the walls this time—and at the end, Lan was the only one in the glass box, Megaman back in the Net.

As Lan climbed out of the box, Dr. Hikari turned to the rest of the group. "Interesting, isn't it?" They all nodded, some were still muttering to each other. "Well, I think I will let you all go for the evening, and we will work on this more tomorrow. Now that you all know what's happening, you can fix whatever bugs are in your part, now that we know how it all works together. Sound good?"

The group nodded in unison a third time, gathered their things, and slowly walked out of the lab.

"That was so cool!" Dingo shouted, jumping up in the air.

"I wonder how it works on a molecular level…" Jie muttered to himself.

"You think you ever want to try it?" Hideaki grinned at Naeva, who blushed slightly and shook her head.

"That _was_ interesting…" Chaud said quietly to April. He looked over his shoulder as the lab doors closed, watching Lan and his dad gathering their things. "I wonder what it felt like…"

April grinned. "You wanna be the next in the box?"

Chaud glanced over at her and gave her a small smile back. "You know me too well."

* * *

><p>Phew! Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to writing! I've had a heck of a busy week, what with huge papers being due in my classes and taking a rather random trip across the mountains to visit my family. I'm a week behind in Nano… OTL<p>

Oh well. I can catch up. Expect a lot from me, hopefully, this week!

Also, I've forgotten to mention this the past couple of chapters, but this fic is a SEQUAL. You'll want to read "Megaman NT Warrior: Requiem's Awakening" if you haven't yet. Things that happen here will make more sense if you read that.

Next time! Ooo, look, it's time for something sinister! And Nocturne may run in to a familiar friend…

Leave a review please!


	4. Not So Hidden Plans

Chapter 3

"Not-So Hidden Plans"

Nocturne enjoyed surfing the Net—literally.

April had made him a "Cyberboard"—it looked like a snowboard—for him several years ago, and he loved being able to zoom around above the regular foot traffic of the Net. It made searching for things and finding people a lot easier.

But it was also just fun to use and not have anywhere to go.

He hadn't been back to the UnderNet since that day four years ago, when he last saw Requiem. The thought of her going away with Bass hurt in him a way he expected many other Navis didn't feel.

_So why am I here again?_

He was sitting on top of a large cube of data, the Cyberboard sitting beside him. He watched what was going on a little ways below him, frowning unhappily. Really, what _was_ he doing here?

The truth was, he had secretly been wanting to come back; he wanted to be the one to find Requiem again. Perhaps he could talk her in to just a visit, and then maybe April could do something…

He shook his head. As long as Bass was with her, there was probably no way he could talk her into coming with him. He sighed, stood up, and jumped off the data cube, board in hand. He maneuvered onto it in the air, and dashed off across the Net, close to the ground. He tapped a button near his foot, and the board shimmered green, then shot forward.

He enjoyed this thrill, speeding around obstacles and the few other Navis, barely missing each one.

Ahead of him, he noticed a large gathering. Unusually large, for the UnderNet. He frowned, tapping the button by his foot and slowing down. He was no expert on the UnderNet, but he was pretty sure that the only large groups around here were gangs and other sorts he didn't want to deal with without his NetOp.

He tapped the board's button one more time as he got closer, and it slowed to a stop. He picked it up and squished it between his hands, folding it up and storing the program until he needed to use it again. He inched his way forward, trying to see what was going on.

As he snuck around a data cube, he failed to see a tiny little green light wink red as he passed; he was so focused on what was going on in front of him.

Nocturne peeked around the corner, and his dark eyes went wide at what he saw.

A large group of Navis, most who looked like they wished the world ill, were gathering around a Navi who was standing on a cube, talking loudly and gesturing wildly.

"The humans have created a monstrosity!" He was shouting. "A device that makes humans and Navis the same!"

Nocturne's eyes widened more. _How do they know about this? It's supposed to be a top secret project!_

"After what I have been through, there is no way that I am going to share a data stream with a filthy human!" The red and black Navi roared, pounding his fist into his palm. The crowd roared its ascent, and Nocturne gulped.

"It is time for us cyberfolk to show the humans that we wish to remain separate from their world. We have no wish or need to participate in things that they do, nor do we wish to share their weaknesses! We are superior and—" Here, he had to stop, and wait for the crowd's cheering to die down.

_Where are the police?_ Nocturne wondered.

_Oh wait, it's the UndereNet. That's right._

"We are superior," the red and black Navi at the front finally continued, "and it is time we showed those humans exactly what will happen if they try to become like us! Join me!" He shouted, spreading his arms wide. "Join me and my organization, and we will make the world our own!"

Nocturne had heard enough to know that he needed to warn the others. He backed away a couple of steps, trying to be quiet even though the crowd was loud enough to cover any sound he made, and he turned around, just in time to walk into the chest of a large Navi. Nocturne had never seen a real bull (only pictures), but he imagined this is what they might look like up close.

The large bodyguard Navi grinned. "Well now, what do we have here? An eavesdropper? Or a trespasser?"

Nocturne gulped again, and tried to smile. "Ah, n-no."

They stared each other down long enough for Nocturne to pick out some choice curse words in his mind, then he turned and ran.

-0-

Requiem had been listening to the loud speech from high above. She was frowning, which was something she didn't do often.

_His speech sounds like it's made directly for Bass._ She thought, feeling slightly nervous, and glancing over at him. He was a third of the way around the circle of Navis from her, watching with an intense look.

_Oh, I really hope he doesn't do something stupid… the last thing we need is Bass to go on a rampage again._

She kept watching, feeling more and more uneasy with every word spoken by this mysterious Navi. Her frown deepened slightly as she studied him. From the way he was talking, he wanted the audience to think he was a strong, independent Navi, but…

Some action below her caught her eye. She glanced down, squinting slightly to zoom in on the sight. A hulking Navi was chasing a smaller one around. She frowned again, thought for a moment, then dropped down.

She touched the ground with a silent flutter of her cloak just as the larger Navi caught the smaller one and pinned him to the wall by his throat. With a jolt, she recognized the smaller, purple and black Navi.

_"I've been looking for you this whole time…"_ He had said that to her, four years ago. Was it possible he was still looking for her?

Nocturne coughed, he hands grabbing at the large Navi's own. He wasn't in contact with his NetOp; there wasn't really anyway for him to fight back. Requiem paused, still and silent.

"You know, there is really only one way for you to save him."

She grit her teeth at Bass' voice.

"One or the other has to be deleted, you get to make that choice."

"Bass, you _know_ I don't have it in me to delete others."

"Very well." He said. She could hear the smirk in his voice. "Then you doom your… friend."

Requiem stood there, frozen and panicking inside. She didn't want to destroy others; she didn't want to start on the path that lead Bass to becoming dark and feared. She didn't want to become a killer.

In front of her, Nocturne choked, his fingers trembling.

_"We are not alike Nocturne… we can never truly understand each other."_ She had said that to him, four years ago. The pain on his face had been different that the pain he had now.

She didn't like seeing him in pain.

Her right hand transformed into a sword, and she pulled her arm back, thrusting it forward.

Up on his data cube, Bass' gaze had been locked on Requiem, the meeting below him forgotten. Requiem's internal struggle was far more interesting than the meeting of gnats below. His face split into a smile.

"Muscleman; deleted."

The large Navi disappeared, and Nocturne fell to his knees, coughing and massaging his neck. Requiem stood, unmoving, her sword-arm still outstretched.

_That was… so easy._

"Easy… the feeling of power over those lesser than you… what a sweet feeling, isn't it, Requiem?"

Bass's words reverberated around her mind; her sword slowly disappeared and reformed into her hand again.

"Requiem?"

She looked down at the voice that was not speaking directly into her mind. "Hello again, Nocturne." She tried to smile, and wondered what he saw.

He coughed again, then stood up, rubbing his neck. His eyes widened slightly as he took in her full appearance; with her cloak whipping around her like that, she looked more like Bass than ever. He saw a little of her internal struggle through her eyes, but he didn't fully understand. He had seen that look in April's eyes before…

She reached out her hand and placed it on his shoulder, and her touch surprised him. She leaned forward and kissed his check, which surprised him more than the touch did.

"You must go." She whispered to him. "The UnderNet is not safe, especially around this part. They will send more to come looking for you, thinking you deleted one of their own." Nocturne had no doubt as to who "they" were.

She straightened, her head turning sharply to the right, the direction of the crowd. "They're coming. Go now, I will hold them off."

"Requiem—"

She held out a hand, stopping his words, then winked at him, the motion looking cheery and deadly all at the same time. "Don't worry; I won't let them catch me. Now go, you must warn the others of what they are planning. Perhaps you can stop all this before destruction and bloodshed occur." She lowered her hand, turning away; her other arm transformed back into a sword.

Nocturne ran up and gave her a swift hug; he felt her stiffen slightly under his touch. "Be careful. I'll come back for you." He whispered, then ran, looking back only once.

As he tore around a corner, he reached out and expanded his cyberboard program. The board grew between his hands; then threw it in front of him and jumped on it, racing out of the UnderNet.

Requiem stood still, adopting the pose she had seen Bass take many times after deleting someone, and she glanced up as the first of the mob came rushing around the corner. The red and black Navi was at the head. They all came screeching to a halt when they saw her.

The lead Navi balled his hands into fists. "So we finally met. I've heard a lot about you, Requiem."

She gave him her best frightening Bass-like smile, her hand transforming back. "Oh, could you sound any more cliché?" She chuckled quietly, and his eyes narrowed.

"I warn you Requiem…"

"No, I warn _you_, whoever-you-are. If you continue this rebellion, you and all your friends will be wiped out." She was talking quietly, but her voice echoed around the silent group. "Not just deleted, but wiped completely out of existence. My partner and I will see to that."

The group seemed to go even quieter, if that was even possible. They all knew who she was referring to; even the toughest Navis in the UnderNet had a healthy fear for Bass.

The leader bared his teeth. "We'll take that challenge."

Requiem lowered her gaze, laughing lowly. "Then soon, you'll be dust."

And with that, she leapt up into the air, disappearing quickly out of sight on top of a data cube.

She sat there, holding trembling hands tightly together as the group slowly dispersed after the leader had given them some more directions. She didn't know what they were; she wasn't listening.

"Very good Requiem."

"Please, not now Bass…"

She could feel his grin focused on her back. "Ah, but now you understand me more now, don't you? Your first time deleting another… how did it feel? Did you feel powerful? In control? Ready to show the rest of the low-lifes around you just exactly how you have complete and total control over wither they live or die?"

She put her face in her hands; he knew her too well. But, that was to be expected.

His smile widened when she didn't answer. "Come; let's see how this all plays out."

* * *

><p>Yay for Thanksgiving and days where I don't have school!<p>

fffffffffffffffft. Nocturne. oh you. XD He may seem a bit OOC, but he's not, don't worry.

Also, I know I said this last chapter, but I'll say it again here: if you haven't read Requiem's Awakening, I suggest you do so. NOW. While I'm writing the next chapter. XD

Expect a lot of chapters from me during the weekend as I try to catch up on NaNo. I'm 25k words behind… . yeah. Yay for time to write!

Next time! Nocturne warns the group about what is going on, but it doesn't seem that many people are going to take him seriously…

Leave a review please!


	5. Warning

Chapter 4

"Warning"

"Ouch."

"Oh stop complaining. That didn't hurt."

Nocturne scowled slightly at April. "No, it didn't. It was just an expression, that's all."

"Uh-huh." April applied the finishing touches of the healing program, then sat back and brushed her hands. Even though they were clean, it gave her a feeling of completion and satisfaction. "There, all done. Just let the program run now and your neck will be fixed up in no time."

She leaned back in her chair, and he sat down as well. They were silent for a couple of minutes, staring at everything but each other.

"You gonna tell me what happened?" April eventually asked, looking at her Navi on the computer screen. Green eyes blinked back at her, and he looked away and sighed.

"I went and visited the UnderNet." He mumbled.

April sat back in her chair, her hand over her eyes. "Oh, is that all?"

"Not… entirely." Nocturne responded hesitantly.

She cracked her fingers open and peaked out at him. Her yellow eye seemed to shine in the shadows from her face. Nocturne hid a slight shiver. "Oh, really?" She prompted.

Nocturne toyed with the program healing his neck. "I, uh, ran into a group there that, uh, well… they-know-about-your-project-and-want-to-stop-it-or-sabotage-it-or-something-I'm-not-quite-sure."

April blinked and lowered her hand. "I'm sorry, I missed that. What?"

Nocturne took a deep breath. "There was a group meeting there, lead by this black and red Navi, and he knew about the project your group is working on, and they want to stop it, or sabotage it, or take it for themselves, or something. They didn't sound very happy about it."

April sat quietly, thinking hard for several long moments. "And you got caught?"

Nocturne nodded, wincing at the memory of the large Navi chasing after him.

"I'm half surprised you weren't deleted. Pleased, of course, but still surprised you made it back in mostly one piece."

"Ah… well, Requiem helped me."

_CRASH!_ "WHAT?"

April had leapt out of her chair; it flew back and crashed into the coffee table. She didn't notice; she had grabbed the screen Nocturne was in and was holding it up to her face so that they would be nose to nose. "You saw Requiem?" She shouted.

Nocturne had fallen over in surprise and was slowly scooting away from April. "Uh, yeah. It's the second time I've seen her in the UnderNet."

"How is she? Is she alright? Was she in one piece? How did you find her? Was Bass with her? What did she say to you? What do you _mean_, this was the _second_ time you've seen her?" April roared as Nocturne's previous statement finally made its way to her brain.

Noctune was scooting back further now. "Ah, yeah, I guess I forgot to tell you about that, didn't I?" A little sweatdrop formed on the corner on his sheepish expression. The corner of April's real eye started to tic.

"Yes, you failed to mention that." She said through clenched teeth. "When did this happen?"

"A few months after she left." Nocturne responded quickly. "I ran into her in the UnderNet; she was with Bass."

"Why didn't—"

"I _tried_ to get her to come back with me but… Bass wouldn't let it. And she said she couldn't come back, not yet."

April put the screen down.

"She saved my life this time." He added quietly. "I didn't have time to talk privately with her."

April sat, staring at him. "Well… I guess that's understandable."

They sat quietly, lost in their own thoughts, until Nocturne looked up. "Um, April?" She looked up at him; he was pointing at the clock.

"Aw, crap."

Nocturne transferred to the PET as April ran around, putting on her socks and shoes and pulling all stuff together in her bag, curing quietly the whole time.

They ran out, April thankful that her door was locked by Nocturne's command, and made it on to the train just as the doors were sliding shut. They cut it so close that April's lab coat was caught in the door, and she was forced to stand next to them until they opened at the next stop.

-0-

"I'm telling you, that's what I saw!"

"We know, we believe you Nocturne." Dr. Hikari was going over the data from Nocturne's memory, frowning as he did so. "What I don't understand is how someone else could know about this. It's really only the eight of us on this project—"

"Plus anybody who we've told and anyone who came in here to work on the box." Dingo interrupted. "There are some people without clearance who probably know about this, and it would take just a little digging to find the rest out."

Both Dingo and Tomahawkman looked eager and ready for action; they couldn't help much in the way of programming—though they did program a little—but their main job was the security of the projects.

"In the wrong hands, something like this could give them an advantage… somehow." Tomahawkman added. "Please please _please_ let us go looking for this Navi."

April hid a smile behind her hand.

Dr. Hikari sighed. "I really don't think that this is something to worry about. Even if they think they know what this program does, they still don't have any access to it. They would have to go through a lot of encryption and firewalls to access even SciLab from the Net, and the part of this program that your Navis can access isn't connected to the Net at all."

"But…"

"Enough." Chaud's voice stopped the complaint before it even really started. "Dr. Hikari is the head of this lab; what he says, goes."

Dingo and Tomahawkman visibly deflated.

Dr. Hikari shook his head. "But if it would make you boys feel better, you can search the system for any leaks. It'll give you something to do."

"All right!" The pair cheered and jumped up, fists pumping.

_It always amazes me how much air they are able to get._ April thought, amused.

Nocturne was scowling, not happy about the lack of reaction.

"I just feel like something bad is going to come of this." He told April quietly as they headed down for lunch. "Something… something just doesn't feel right."

"Don't worry about it Nocturne." April stroked the edge of her PET's screen. "Dingo and Tomahawkman will make sure that no one but those with the right credentials will be able to even come close to the program at all. Work like this is something they were made to do."

"Yeah, but…"

"Really, we'll be fine." April smiled.

Nocturne smiled back, but he still felt uneasy. _I just hope she's right… I don't know, maybe she is right; that may have been a group that's all talk and no action._

_ Yeah. Right. Like we're that lucky._

* * *

><p>Short chapter is short. .<p>

I don't think I'm going to make my 50k word mark by the end of the month. OTL oh well. Maybe I'll be able to finish one of my two stories within that time.

Also, typing on the plane kind of makes me dizzy.

Next time! Perhaps we'll learn a bit about this mysterious organization that wants to use the box.

CONTEST! I have no idea what to call this program that they're working on. If you have an idea, leave it in a review! One lucky person will have their idea used in the story! :D

Leave a review please! ^^


	6. Recording

Chapter 5

"Recording"

The last of the Navis cleared away, and the red and black Navi smiled as he slotted the last piece of information into the tiny data cube on his lap.

"That was a successful meeting."

The Navi turned around to face the bodyguard behind him, smirking. "Yes, it was, wasn't it?" He held up the data cube, looking at it closely. The black clawed hands held the cube gently, and his smirk was serpentine. "We are getting close to the required number of program codes." He said.

The bodyguard Navi leaned a little closer as well. "How are those going to help Dragonman?"

The red and black Navi looked up and hissed. "Idiot! Never say my name where there might be someone to hear it and pass it to the wrong ears!"

The bodyguard winces and retreated slightly. "Sorry."

Dragonman shook his head. "Honestly, all you Musclemen are the same: big and dumb."

The Muscleman copy ducked his head and tried his best to look humble.

Dragonman sighed and rolled his red eyes. "But you're lucky I'm in a good mood; I'll answer your question." He held up the cube. "These are small, but vital, parts of each Navi's programming code. With these, I'll be able to give a command and have it fulfilled without question."

"A control program? Aren't those illegal? Especially one that can command that many?"

Dragonman grinned, showing off his sharp front teeth. "Yes. Yes, it is."

-0-

"Are you _sure_ this is going to work Dragonman?"

"Yes, yes, don't worry your fragile little head about it." Dragonman waved a hand, unconcerned. He held up the program cube with his other hand, smiling at the darkened screen. "I built this myself; it has been tested thoroughly many times. I have full confidence in its ability to help with our plans."

"You had better hope to back up your boasts about this, or else it will all fall apart." With that, Dragonman's mysterious employer hung up, the screen winking out.

Dragonman's smile was quickly replaced by a scowl. "Feh. Who does that human think he is?" He muttered, reaching out a hand and erasing the call history from the Net. "If he wants my help to destroy his own race, so be it, but I'm tired of all his insults."

He compressed the cube between his hands, safely storing it away in his memory, then jumped up, large black wings spreading out to catch him. He flew towards the boundary of the Net and UnderNet.

_Time to check up on that scientist._ He thought, flying through, sending air currents rippling in his wake.

The unknown identity of his employer still bothered him though, and he frowned as he traveled towards a familiar destination. While he found it ironic that it was a human who wanted to destroy his own race, he wondered why. He wasn't against it, which is why he was going along with all this cloak-and-dagger stuff, but he still couldn't shake a feeling of unease when he thought of the black screen he talked to and took orders from.

He passed through SciLab's security (it was easy, with the current passwords he had acquired from one of his test subjects) and made his way to the Network of the Silver Tower. While he couldn't access the program he was hoping to hijack until they connected it to the Net somehow, he could spy and steal information about it. And one of the easiest ways to do this was to watch as they worked on it.

At this moment, only the scientist and a man he assumed to be the scientist's son were in the lab. The son's Navi was there too, an annoyingly astute little blue thing. Dragonman had already almost been spotted once by this Navi, but he had managed to avoid any detection that time.

Now, before he got anywhere near the Silver Tower Net, he activated his Stealth program. It would keep him hidden from casual glances and a more serious once-over, and he could keep from being spotted during a hard search, but that wore him out more quickly, and he could only hold that for a few minutes before becoming exhausted.

The father, son, and Navi were all gathered at one computer terminal. They had a program out and enlarged, and were apparently trying to sort out some bugs.

_Excellent. The more you fix it, the less work I have to do to it._

Dragonman settled down, wings folded, and watched closely, recording everything he was seeing and hearing.

-0-

Megaman gave an odd sort of twitch, his shoulders shuddering.

Lan raised an eyebrow at him. "You all right Megaman?"

"Yeah." The Navi replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "I just got this weird feeling… like we're being watched."

Lan chuckled. "Aw, come on Megaman. You've seen what Dingo and Tomahawkman did to the security around this building and the Net. No one's getting in here without permission."

"Yeah, but…" Megaman was frowning slightly, remembering what Nocturne had told everybody a couple of days ago. He sighed. "I still feel like we're being watched though."

"_I always feel like, somebody's watchin' meeeeeeeee…!_" Dr. Hikari suddenly sang out

Lan gave his father a horrified look, blinking rapidly. "Dad, what the heck was that?"

The brown-haired doctor laughed. "It's an old, old, _old_ song that your mother and I enjoyed dancing to." He gave Lan a wink. "Especially around Halloween."

"Um, sure." Lan may have been in his early twenties, but he still acted like a teenager in many aspects of his life, including being embarrassed by his parents.

Dr. Hikari chuckled, and highlighted a part of the program. "Megaman, do you think you could zoom in and spread this part out for me please?"

"Sure thing Dad."

-0-

Dragonman watched in fascination as they expanded and explored nearly every single part of the program. Apparently, the group had run a test earlier in the day, but it hadn't been entirely successful, and they were, obviously, trying to figure out what was wrong with it.

He made sure to carefully record everything , and paid special attention to the up-close and personal parts of the program. If he was going to steal it, he should learn how to use it.

_But why? Really, why am I doing this?_

He had these small moments of self-doubt every so often, and he looked at these moments in his memories and shuddered. But the best way to get rid of self-doubt was to answer it directly.

_I am doing this because I was hired to. I am doing this because I have a personal investment in this. I am doing this because I… I want t know if life outside the Net is really that great._ He adjusted the focus on his recording program, making sure to get every detail in as clear a view as possible. Doing things right now would make it easier later.

-0-

Father and Son yawned at the same time.

"It seems both of you guys could use some sleep." Megaman chuckled. "Why don't we put this away and work on it tomorrow with everyone else? It'll be good to get some insight from the programmers themselves."

"Very well. Good idea Megaman." Dr. Hikari saved a copy of the progress they had made and backed it up onto a disk, "just in case."

As the Hikari males put their things away and got ready to go home, Megaman found his shoulders shuddering slightly again.

"You ready Megaman?"

The Navi was scanning the area behind him. "No, not yet. There's something out there I want to check.

_This is my cue to exit._ Dragonman thought. He slowly stood up, unfurling his wings and preparing to take off when the blue Navi's back was turned.

Megaman wandered slowly around the edges of the computer's net, a hand covering the frown on his face. With every step he moved forward, Dragonman moved a step back.

_Curse you, why don't you look away?_

As Megaman got closer, Dragonman activated the deep Stealth mode, and felt the strain on his programming right away.

This silent game of cat and mouse went on for some time, Lan looking bored and impatient to go home. Dragonman was sweating the equivalent of human sweat (for there has only been one Navi every created that could create a human liquid like a human could), trying to keep up the program. It was harder than he thought, and he considered taking it to some of his people to see what they could do to improve it.

"Megaman…"

"Just a minute Lan." Megaman turned his head to address his NetOp, and Dragonman took the moment to unfurl his wings.

Apparently, he had been as silent as he though, and Megaman whirled around dashing toward the sound.

"Lan! Send me a chip!"

It took the young man half a moment to realize what was going on, and he threw a battle chip into his PET. "Cyber Sword!"

Dragonman swore and took off, still trying to hide under the program, but letting go of the deep Stealth so he could concentrate on running and flying.

"Lan, I heard wings! I think he's up in the air!"

"On it! Winged shoes, download!"

Dragonman hissed, then immediately regretted it as Megaman jumped in the air toward the source of the sound. _It has been too long since I've actually been in action like this. I need to train more or else I will get out of practice._

He made sure he had the recordings safe and sound in his memory, then he streamlined his body and shot toward the exit.

"Paintball shot, download!"

_That's a new one_.

A smattering of air puffs rang out, and tons of brightly colored balls flew everywhere. Dragonman twisted and dodged, and winced as his heels were painted a bright green. His lip curled at the color and he poured more speed into making it out of the Silver Tower Net, to the normal Net, where he would be able to log safely in to the UnderNet (if anything could ever be done safely in the UnderNet)

Megaman's tiny shoe wings couldn't keep up with his large ones, and soon Dragonman found himself outside of SciLab's Net. He checked once more to make sure that he had all the recordings. Deciding to give his wings a break, he took several deep breaths and concentrated on where he wanted to go.

"Dragonman, logging out."

_I hope that paint doesn't take too long to get off. It's sticky and an obnoxious color. I can't let anybody from the organization see me like this. If they do, no one will take me seriously._

He paused in his thoughts, noticing the familiar room around him—his own. _Or will they? Could I turn this almost catastrophe into an advantage?_

* * *

><p>NaNoWriMo ends in an hour. *sigh* I'm not near 50k words, but I'm going the best I can. I'll count myself a winner if I beat last year's word count, which, I might. Current count: 32,313. Goal: 35k.<p>

OK GO

Next time! Oh boy, teamwork! And we get to see Dingo and Tomahawkman having fun! :D

Leave a review please! ^^


	7. Destiny Stream

Chapter 6

"Destiny Stream"

"You ready Tomahawkman?"

"Bet your chain of lucky feathers that I am."

"Okay… ready… go!"

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!" Tomahawkman screamed a battle cry and rushed around the corner, sliding to a halt. "Oh. There's no one here."

"You sure?" Dingo tilted his PET to attempt to get a better angle on the scene, but it did as much good as turning the wired controller while playing one of those ancient racing video games did. "I could've _sworn_ that somebody weird was hanging around here…"

"Yeah, me too," Tomahawkman said, looking around the familiar SciLab Net. "And from what Megaman told us, he said that he caught somebody spying here too."

Dingo folded his arms and scowled at the small device. He was sitting in bed, having been woken up by an urgent email from Lan and Megaman. "Yeah, and I highly doubt that both Megaman _and_ Lan are lying to us…"

"Hey, send me one of those flying chips, will you?"

"Sure," Dingo said, loading the "Eagle Wing" chip into the PET. "Didja find something?"

"Maybe," Tomahawkman said, jumping into the air as the chip data reached him. He activated it, and wings sprouted out from his shoulders. "They said they used a new paint chip, right?"

"Yeah."

"I found the splatters," Tomahawkman said, hovering at the firewall border of the lab's net. "And… hey, what do you think of this?" He pointed at a spot, and Dingo zoomed in, a large smile widening across his face.

"Looks like our spy has green feet right now." He jumped out of bed and started pulling his clothes on. "Wanna investigate further?"

"How fast can you get here?" His Navi looked back at him, with a grin to match his own.

Dingo pulled up the train schedule in a corner of the PET screen. "Since there's a train arriving soon… twenty minutes. Here, have a few more chips and I'll be right there."

"Sounds good," Tomahawkman said, glancing at each chip as the data finally reached him. "Meet me on the first floor of the Tower. I should know where this guy went to by then."

-0-

"So, what've you learned about this guy?"

Dingo stood at a terminal in the empty main lobby of SciLab's Silver Tower, his face shining with sweat and excitement. Tomahawkman was grinning on the screen.

"Lots of fun stuff. I found green paint flecks all though the system, some pretty heavily guarded ones too. Lucky we're military and have all the keys eh?"

Dingo laughed. "So he's still in the system?"

"Naw, he'd have to be pretty stupid to think he could hide in here still," Tomahawkman snorted. "I found the spot where he logged out though. Three guesses as to where it leads, and the first two don't count."

"Our favorite place in the entire World Wide Web: the UnderNet."

"You got it!" The Navi grinned and opened a screen. "Pretty specific place too. Looks like Megaman was scaring this guy so bad that he went straight home without erasing his path too well after him."

"You know, for a famous Navi, Megaman isn't _that_ scary."

"I know, which makes me wonder if this is a trap."

"Stake out?"

"Stake out," the Navi agreed.

Dingo grinned. "Just tell me where to go to get the best connection."

-0-

Chaud scowled at the email open on his screen:

"Plugging a leak. Be back in a few days. D&T"

"So someone _has_ been spying on our work. Nocturne was right." He turned his gaze to Dr. Hikari, who returned a sheepish look. Out of the corner of his eye, Chaud saw April swat at her screen. Probably something Nocturne said.

"Doctor, perhaps we should wait until Dingo gets back with more information before continuing on with this project," Naeva said, worry evident in the lines creasing her forehead.

"No," Hidaeki said, half a second before Chaud could get the word out of his own mouth. "Now is the best time to push forward, while Dingo and Tomahawkman are keeping this spy busy. If we get ahead of them—"

"And what if there's more than one?" April pointed out, switching her gaze from Hidaeki to Chaud. "In the wrong hands, this program could be very dangerous. The last thing we need is _another_ potential world-ending calamity."

Lan made a sheepish-sounding noise next to Chaud.

_When Lan's involved, nearly anything can turn into the end of the world…_ the young heir thought.

"However, there is the chance that Dingo and Tomahawkman are on the tail of the only one," Chaud said, sitting back and folding his arms. "Nocturne said he saw only one Navi running that meeting right?"

"Well, yes," April said, "but that doesn't mean there's only one spying on us."

"But the possibility is very great. Navi's who hold power over large groups tend to show themselves to those groups so the group will recognize and respect—or fear—them. It sounds like there's one Navi behind this operation."

"One that we know about," April insisted. "There could be other Navi's and even humans working with this group."

Dr. Hikari cleared his throat. "While there is the risk that someone is spying on us, I've taken the liberty and had our Net—as well as the project—completely separated from SciLab's Net. The only way anybody is going to find out any information is by plugging in one of these terminals, or reconnecting the Nets; but if that happens, I'll know for sure."

April sat back and bowed her head, deferring to the senior scientist, but the scowl Chaud saw on her face clearly showed her dislike.

Silently, he reached over and grabbed her left hand, giving it a squeeze and feeling the ring he had placed there only a few days ago press against his palm. April shot him a side-long glance. "Don't worry," he mouthed, and she sighed.

"At any rate," Dr. Hikari continued, "even if someone stole the Destiny Stream program now—"

"The what?" Lan interrupted.

"Ah, Destiny Stream. That's what I've decided to name this program." He grinned and his son rolled his eyes. "If someone steals it, the program is useless without the rest of the necessary equipment—which we have here in the lab—and requires several passwords before starting up. Right now, if any of those passwords are put in incorrectly, the program will be destroyed."

"And you've backed it up somewhere, right?" Jie asked.

"On disks, inaccessible to the Net."

Chaud nodded in approval. It appeared that Dr. Hikari really did have all the angles covered. He gave April's hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Are we all satisfied? Yes? Good. Now, Lan, Megaman and I went over some parts of it last night, and here's what I think may have gone wrong…"

On Chaud's screen, Protoman smiled and held out an email for Chaud to read.

"_You sure nothing bad will happen?"_

He raised his eyebrows at Protoman, who tilted his head to Chaud's right. Nocturne waved from a corner of Chaud's screen, and the young man glanced over at April. She was staring straight ahead as though she was paying attention to Dr. Hikari.

Chaud typed his response.

_As sure as I ever am._

He heard a soft snort from April when she opened the email. Her response was quicker than his—she must be a lot better at typing one-handed.

"_Which is to say, not very."_

_ I have full confidence in Dr. Hikari and Dingo and Tomahawkman. They'll find this spy—if they're on stakeout already, they probably know who the Navi is. And Dr. Hikari has taken good, strong measures. The program is safe._

"…"

_ What?_

"_What if the spy is one of us?"_

It was Chaud's turn to snort.

_That's very unlikely._

"_You sure?"_

_ Yes. Even if the spy is someone in this room, Lan and I have the authority to arrest them, and stop the scheme right then and there._

"_And you'll do that?"_

_ You know I will._

"Promise," she whispered softly, looking over at him now.

He locked gazes with her. "I promise." He glanced up. "And I think Dr. Hikari is talking to you."

Startled, she looked up. "You were?"

The older scientist grinned. "Yes, I was. I was asking you about this part of your code here."

They started talking about bits of code that looked like they still needed some work. Chaud started to pull his hand out of April's, but she gripped it tighter and didn't let go.

Chaud gave her a smile, then leaned forward, resting his chin in his hand. "Women," he mouthed at Protoman, grinning and rolling his eyes.

* * *

><p>Well, only one person entered my "contest" that I started all the way back in CHAPTER FOUR, so naturally, he won! The program is named "Destiny Stream" as suggested by randomdude 9754.<p>

By writing this, I've realized that I messed up the continuity between this and the oneshots, but I honestly don't care. Those are so badly written that I'm considering deleting them… . they're embarrassing to go back and read, honestly.

Anywos, I have a new goal now that I've graduated: finish all my fics before baby comes in June (yes, I am pregnant, thank you for noticing. XD) now that I've gotten back into this story and have kinda sorta remembered where I wanted to go with it, and now that I'm out of school and a jobless bum (my poor husband…), I have lots of time to write, so be expecting semi-regular updates from me! ^^

Next time: Requiem. Because I love her.

Leave a review please! ^^


	8. Fight to Live

Chapter 7

"Fight to Live"

Requiem sat on top of a data cube, hugging her knees to her chest, her cloak in a pile next to her. She stared out at the dark stretch of the UnderNet beneath her, and shivered.

She had been avoiding Bass and other Navis ever since she had run into Nocturne and…

"Saved his life," she whispered. "I saved his life, that's what I did."

_At the cost of another Navi's life…_ she thought, but didn't say it out loud.

Irritation washed over her at the thought; frowning, she pushed it away. Though she hadn't seen Bass in several days, his presence was always in the back of her mind, watching her.

"Requiem."

She rested her forehead on her knees. "Not now Bass. I just want to be alone."

"Fool," the voice in the back of her head spat. "You sit there sulking and let a potential source of information get away."

Requiem's head snapped up, and she scanned the ground below her.

_There._

She jumped off the cube and streaked to the ground, leaving her cloak on the cube.

"Are you coming Bass?"

He snorted. "You are the one more curious about these happenings. I'll leave it to you."

"If you insist."

She landed with a soft _tap_ in front of the Navi she had spotted. He pulled to a halt as she dropped.

"Who's that?"

She stepped forward, out of a shadow, and frowned. "I thought I deleted you."

The large Navi's hands tightened into fists the size of Requiem's head. "That was a copy," he said, scowling at her. "What do you want? Think you can delete me too?"

_A copy, of course_, Requiem thought, ignoring the other's mocking tone and sidestepping his punch.

He snarled and swung again. Requiem stepped back, only half paying attention to him and his attacks. He clenched his hands together, and his fists doubled in size. He swung again at Requiem's head.

She held up a hand and stopped his hammer attack. Reaching out with her other hand, she flicked his chest, sending him flying into the wall and leaving a huge crater.

"Ugh…" he moaned, and dropped to the ground. Requiem stepped up to him and knelt beside his head, a bored expression on her face.

"I could delete you if I wanted to, though it would hardly be worth the effort. No, I'll let you live in exchange for information." She paused. He glared up at her, but didn't say anything. "Who sent you?" She asked.

"No one."

"Don't lie to me," she said, allowing some anger to leak into her facial expression. "Navis like you don't act without orders. Who sent you?"

He stayed silent.

Requiem sighed dramatically and rubbed the bridge of her nose with a fingertip. "I'm giving you the count of three to decide whether you want to live or die. One," she held her hand to his face. "Two." A small ball of light gathered in her palm.

"I don't know," he croaked.

She frowned and pulled her hand away. "What do you mean, you don't know?"

"The person in charge of everything—I've never seen him. Whenever he calls Dragonman, it's just a voice from behind a black screen. I don't even know if he's human or Navi."

"Dragonman?" She repeated quietly. "Is that the red and black Navi I traded threats with the other day?"

A look of pure horror crossed his face.

"What's your name?"

"I'm not important—just another copy."

Requiem opened her mouth to repeat her question, and a small screen opened near the copy's head.

"Muscleman, where are you? Where is the—" The voice cut off as it took in the scene.

Requiem gave the red and black Navi on the screen her best imitation of a Bass smile. "You must be this Dragonman that everyone's talking about."

"Requiem," he hissed back. "Again I find you interfering with my plans."

She cocked an eyebrow. "Interfering? Hardly. Simply finding out information. Unless you'd be so willing as to tell me your plans yourself? That would make my life so much easier."

"Fool!" He snarled. "You'll get no information from me. Or," he added, shifting his gaze to the beat-up copy lying on the ground, "from anyone associated with me."

Fear crossed Muscleman's face. "Dragonman, please, no—"

Dragonman lifted a finger, and a bolt of fire shot down from the sky and engulfed the copy. Requiem kept still even though the heat burned at her hands and knees.

"Muscleman, deleted."

"You're sick," Requiem whispered.

A smile split Dragonman's mouth. "Good-bye Requiem."

The screen closed, and Requiem's hand shot out, grabbing the information about the call before it could be erased from the other end. She stared at the data, memorizing it, then released it, watching it fade with unseeing eyes.

"Getting squeamish, Requiem?"

She leapt up into the air, away from the smoldering crater that used to be Muscleman, but she couldn't run away from the voice in her head.

-0-

Dragonman's smile remained in place as he erased the call's history from the Net. True, that idiot copy had revealed his identity to Requiem, but she would've found out about him eventually.

No, he had found out something more interesting tonight about that copy of Bass'. Something that proved wrong half of the rumors that were spread about her.

Requiem was afraid of killing.

Dragonman chuckled as he turned back to his previous project. She could hide in Bass' shadow for as long as she wanted, but the UnderNet was a place where you couldn't hesitate to strike the final blow. Eventually, she would have to decide to follow in Bass' path.

"After all," he muttered, putting the final touches on the SciLab security video, "when it's your own life at stake, you won't have a choice _but_ to strike to kill." He folded his arms and smiled. "I will enjoy watching your struggle to decide who lives and who dies."

-0-

"The humans are not content anymore with simply invading our space!"

Requiem watched the crowd below her with unseeing eyes, only half listening to the speech Dragonman was giving. She clutched her knees tighter to her chest and shivered, glad that her cloak hid the movement.

Acting mean and uncaring—acting like Bass—always left her with an empty feeling in her programming. Though being associated with Bass the way she was meant that Navis expected her to act a certain way; after all, shouldn't a copy act like the original? But the emotions her creator April had left her with told her there was more to her than either she or Bass knew.

And these emotions were what were constantly making her second-guess herself.

"You see that I have been marked—marked by none other than our greatest enemy: Megaman!"

Shock rippled though the mental connection from Bass, though Requiem could see he was standing stone-still. She looked back down at the crowd as Dragonman played a security video showing his narrow escape from the SciLab Net. Navis in the crowd shifted uneasily, and Requiem could almost taste the hate in the air. She frowned.

_Something's not quite right…_

"The humans have sent their greatest warrior, and he has marked me, your leader, for destruction," Dragonman continued, sounding subdued. "Our world and very way of life are in danger more now than ever before." He looked down at his bright green feet, then looked back up at the crowd and clenched a fist. "That means our time to act against the humans is nearly upon us. Let us show them the true strength of the denizens of the UnderNet!"

_He does have a flair for the dramatic_, Requiem thought as the crowd below erupted into cheers and shouts.

Behind the platform Dragonman was standing on, a flash of color caught her eye. She stood and squinted.

_Oh no. Oh no. You IDIOT._

"It seems your creator's… friends have suicidal tendencies."

"Hubstyle!" Requiem cried, activating the program and ignoring the smirking voice in the back of her head. _Oh please oh please let me be fast enough_.

In her Hubstyle form, everything slowed to a crawl. She saw a Navi jump onto the platform next to Dragonman, his mouth split in a grin and the ax attached to his arm swinging for the red and black Navi. Dragonman turned as if surprised, a smirk plastered on his face. The ax came down and missed as Dragonman jumped back. The Indian Navi jumped forward, and Requiem crashed into him.

"Guh!"

The force of her tackle threw them backwards, smashing a huge crater into the ground and throwing up thick cyber dust.

"Do you realize what you've done?" Requiem hissed, ignoring the dust that coated the inside of her mouth with every word. She kept one knee pressed against his chest, her hands squeezing his shoulders so hard little bits started de-rizzing under her fingertips.

"I almost had him!" The Navi spat back between coughs. "If you hadn't come crashing in—"

"Were you not _listening_?" She split her gaze between the Navi and the NetOp on the screen floating beside her. "These people think the humans are after them and that Megaman and Lan are leading the charge."

"So?"

She resisted the urge to punch the screen. It wouldn't do any good. "If you had deleted their leader, we would've had a serious riot on our hands. It's bad enough now that you've proven him right by trying to delete him." She squeezed his shoulders harder and he winced. "Tomahawkman, why couldn't you just _sit still_ and gather information instead of jumping in and trying to destroy everything?"

He glared up at her, but didn't say anything. The dust slowly cleared, and Requiem heard—again—the unmistakable sounds of a large, angry mob behind her. She stood, lifted Tomahawkman by his shoulders, and threw him out of the crater. He grunted as he landed.

She jumped up after him, landing silently beside him. "They are coming to kill you. Go now, and don't show your face in the UnderNet until this Dragonman has been dealt with."

Tomahawkman shook his head and stood, his hand holding his nearly disintegrated shoulder together. "I can fight them off."

"There's _thousands_ of them, and one of you. _Get out _and go tell my creator what you've seen."

"April? But—"

She held a hand to his face and started gathering energy into her palm.

"Tomahawkman, logging out."

"Finally," she breathed, her hand falling to her side under her cape.

The dust completely cleared, and thousands of pairs of eyes were staring her down, a very familiar Navi at the front.

"Here we are again," Dragonman said quietly.

Requiem nodded.

"I see you also have the ability to copy the programs of other Navis," Dragonman continued, his smirk widening. "How… informative."

The crowd spread out and started to curl around the edges, surrounding Requiem. She shifted her weight slightly, her eyes flicking back and forth across the crowd. She kept the bottom half of her face hidden under her cloak, swallowing through a suddenly dry mouth.

"You know what this means, don't you?"

"Bass, _not now_."

The crowd finished its movement, completely surrounding her. Dragonman opened a set of wings from his back and took to the sky. "I will enjoy watching you get torn apart Requiem," he called, rising quickly.

She watched him go for a moment, then turned her attention to the group around her.

"Bass…" she muttered into her cloak.

"Kill or be killed Requiem. I will not interfere."

"Bass, please…"

"You have the power, and the ability. Show them you know how to _use_ it."

She swallowed again, and the crowd surged forward. Requiem crouched and her Aura Shield sprang up around her. The Navis battered against it, and she could feel it strain under so many blows.

_No, I can't… I won't. I won't become a heartless killer like you._

"Then you are doomed to deletion."

Her Shield cracked and shattered, and the sound of the crowd pressed on her a fraction of a second before the mob itself did. Fists, swords, hammers, and other weapons battered at her. She held her arms up and felt spots on her body start to de-riz.

"You don't want to die, do you?"

_I don't want to needlessly kill!_

"You have no choice."

_But…_

"Turn the tide and _live,_ Requiem."

A sword sliced a long cut into her back, and she felt the Hubstyle start to slip. She grit her teeth and muttered a phrase she had found in her creator's memories.

"Oh, _hell no._"

The Earthbreaker cut through the Navis attacking her, vaporizing them where they stood. The light faded, and she glanced around again.

The circle had thinned by a third; she knelt by herself in the middle of a large clear space. She stood and her cloak fell off her, tattered. Light crackled quietly around her body as her programming started healing itself.

"Don't allow her time to heal!" Dragonman's voice screeched from somewhere above. Those in the front of the crowd hesitated only half a second, then shot forward.

"I will _not_ die today," Requiem whispered. Her hands transformed into swords and she tapped into the full power of the Hubstyle, diving straight into the crowd.

-0-

Dragonman watched Requiem cut a swath through his new recruits, his hands clenched into fists to keep them from shaking.

"How is this possible?" He muttered. "How is she surviving a force of nearly ten thousand?"

"You doubted her abilities?" A quiet voice said behind him.

Dragonman turned and couldn't keep his eyes from widening. "Bass."

The independent Navi regarded him coolly. "Her abilities mirror my own. I am, after all, the original. Did you doubt my power, because it comes in the form of another?"

Dragonman turned his wide eyes back down to the battle below, noticing with a jolt how few of his recruits were left. "You mean… she's a copy of you?"

"Not an exact copy," Bass corrected, moving forward to float beside him, his eyes flicking from Dragonman to the battle below. "She is… unique in her own way. But yes, her powers are a copy of my own."

Bass was quiet for a long moment, and slowly, his mouth split into a wicked grin. "I really must thank you."

Dragonman stared at him.

Red eyes watched the carnage Requiem was creating. "With your help, she is on her way to becoming more powerful than she was before." He paused. "She is closer to fully understanding me," he added so quietly Dragonman almost didn't hear.

Dragonman finally got his vocal code moving. "You don't mean… she won't…"

Bass threw his head back and laughed.

-0-

_Nine thousand six hundred and eighty-two._

Requiem transformed her hands back to normal and let go of the Hubstyle, dropping to her knees. _I just killed—no, massacred—nearly ten thousand Navis. All on my own._

The laughter coming from above her echoed the laughter in her mind. She clutched at her head, moaning.

_This is NOT what I was created for…_

"Are you sure of that?"

Requiem moaned again. "Bass, please…"

There was a flutter of fabric, and he was kneeling in front of her. "Very good Requiem. You have taken a large step towards realizing your full potential."

"_Shut up!_" Requiem screamed, her head snapping up. "My potential is not to become a _murderer_ like you!"

He returned her glare, then frowned. He reached out and brushed her cheek; Requiem felt a wet smear where his fingertips touched her.

"Again…" Bass muttered, looking at the teardrop that dangled from his finger. "You've managed to achieve the impossible again…" His gaze shifted to her. "…How?"

Her mismatched eyes flit between his face and the tear hanging from his finger. An unfamiliar emotion welled up in her chest. Her hands shook, she swallowed, the emotion burst, and she bolted—away from Bass, from the tear, from the area of death she created. She flew to the one person who should be able to help her.

_April Cossack, my creator._

* * *

><p>Oh Requiem, you really do have the devil whispering in your ear, don't you?<p>

Poor thing.

*evil grin*

Next time! It's time for another run of the Destiny Stream. April and Nocturne volunteer to try it out this time. Let's hope nothing goes wrong, hm?

**Love me and review please! :D**


	9. Cry for Help

Chapter 8

"Cry for Help"

April drummed her fingers on the desk, watching as Lan and Megaman stepped into the Destiny Stream cubes. She had wanted to test it out this time, but Dr. Hikari had insisted that debugging would be easier if they stuck with just one human/Navi pair for the process.

"We'll have our turn when there's a smaller chance of having our innards ripped out," Nocturne said.

She pulled a face. "Charming image."

Dr. Hikari started the program, and a light appeared at the top of each box, moving slowly down the walls and scanning Lan and Megaman. It ran down to the bottom and back up, and ooze started spreading over the walls, this time navy blue in color. It smeared over the walls, completely obscuring the duo from view, before being pulled to the center, like light to a black hole.

Everybody was prepared for the sudden flash of light this time, though it was still dazzling behind closed eyelids. April blinked and rubbed her eyes to get the spots to go away faster, and looked up.

Lan and Megaman weren't in the box in the lab.

"Lan!" Chaud's voice rang out as his vision cleared.

"Look over here." Dr. Hikari pointed to the giant screens, rubbing his eyes with the other hand.

The combined figures of Lan and Megaman were in the Net version of the Destiny Stream cube, instead of in the real world cube like last time. Lan was looking at his hands, opening and closing them, and Megaman was twisting back and forth at the waist, like he was exercising.

"Why are we in the Net this time Dad?" The brown-haired figure—Lan—asked.

"Experimentation," Dr. Hikari replied, somewhat evasively, focusing on the computer in front of him.

"Hey April, check this out."

She turned her attention from the large lab screen to the screen in front of her. "Hm?"

Nocturne had opened two windows full of squiggly lines. "Lan's vitals," he explained in a quiet voice, "from last time, and currently."

"Interesting," April muttered, rubbing her chin in thought. "This is what Dr. Hikari's looking at right now?"

"One of them," her Navi admitted. "I thought you'd be most interested in this one first."

"Hmm…" she droned.

Lan's vitals were more erratic in the window on the left, when he first went through the Destiny Stream. There were several dramatic spikes—from where he and Megaman had tried to make contact, April guessed. The window on the right was currently running, showing a live feed. These lines looked more regular, though the numbers were outside anything normal for a human.

"Do you have data for him from outside the program?" April asked, adjusting the two windows so that they ran the same time frame side by side.

Nocturne shook his head. "Nothing recent, anyway."

"Hm," April said again, feeling movement by her shoulder. Chaud leaned down next to her and peered at her screen. "I wonder why he's more stable in the Net?" She asked quietly, mostly to herself.

"Possibly because that's what his body is used to," Chaud replied just as quietly. "He and I are similar—our physical bodies have both spent a great deal of time in the Net, attached to our Navis, Lan even more so than me. The environment of the Net is different from the real world; it looks like his body has adapted to that environment when it's in a state of being connected to Megaman's programming. My results would probably be similar. Yours would probably be more stable in the real world, though," he added, his eyes flicking to her Navi, "that would possibly not be the case for Nocturne. Navis would undoubtedly be more comfortable and stable in the Net."

April sat in silence, absorbing what her fiancé said and turning it several times over in her mind.

"We would need measurements from more than those two to test that theory out," she finally said. "Though it would make sense that you and Lan have different results from everyone, because of how _special_ you are," she added in a teasing tone. Chaud gave her a small smile.

_Ap… ossa…elp…Apr… ssack… hel…_

April looked up from her screen, frowning.

_April… Cossak… help…_

"Do you hear something?" She asked, glancing at Chaud. He gave her an odd look, then shook his head.

"Strange…" she muttered, turning back to her screen, "it was almost as if…"

"Requiem," Nocturne whispered. "That was her voice."

-0-

"So I'm _not_ going crazy then."

Nocturne rubbed the back of his head. "Not more than usual. Either that, or we're _both _starting to lose it."

"Lovely thought, that," April said, frowning down at her Navi. "But why would Requiem be calling for help?"

Nocturne shrugged. "I don't know. But I don't like the idea of Requiem _needing_ to call for help."

April felt some of the color drain from her face. "I would rather that we be losing our sanity than have to face that situation."

The train stopped; April slipped her PET into its case at her belt, grabbed her bag, and jumped off. Work went extra slow after hearing the voice that morning, and she was eager to get home.

"Do you think it has something to do with that group I ran into in the UnderNet a few days ago?" Nocturne's voice asked from her belt.

"It's possible," April replied. "Though, if that's true, from what you told me before, it seems like Requiem is more than able to hold her own against those people. I don't see why she would need to call for help…" she trailed off, mouth going dry, as a worst-case scenario started playing in her mind. She shook her head, chasing the image out. "She held her own against _Bass_, for cryin' out loud. She's fine."

"I hope you're right," Nocturne said darkly.

-0-

Tomahawkman scowled and scratched at the healing program attached to his shoulder.

"If you don't leave it alone, it won't be able to heal you completely," Dingo said without looking up from writing his report.

"But it _itches_!" The Navi whined.

"I know that, but you've got to leave it alone!"

Tomahawkman scowled, but he let his hand fall down by his side. "If she hadn't stopped me from taking out that guy, we wouldn't be in this situation."

His NetOp rubbed his eyes. "I know. But maybe it's a good thing she did. We might've been in a _little_ over our heads there…"

Tomahawkman's scowl deepened. "We would've been fine, and you know it!"

"Maybe." He glanced out his window at the building across from his. "Oh look, April's home. Let's go talk to her."

-0-

April jacked Nocturne into her home system with the flick of a wrist, and he unlocked and opened the door for her.

"Thanks," she said, and he nodded, transferring over to her computer after shutting and relocking the door. April piled her stuff on the couch and went into the kitchen to get something to eat; Nocturne opened the email program to see if anything new arrived.

_Ap… ril… help…_

Nocturne looked up just as a figure came crashing through April's firewall. He dove out of the way, reaching for chip data that was stored in April's computer. His right hand became a cyber sword, and he rolled up into a defensive position. The dust from the destroyed firewall cleared; the figure who crashed through was crouching on the ground, her arms wrapped around herself. Nocturne blinked and lowered his sword.

"Requiem?"

She looked up at him. "Hello Nocturne. Is April here?"

The doorbell rang.

-0-

April ran her fingers through her hair again. "This is _why_," she said, leveling a finger at Dingo, "you need to _think_ before you _attack_."

"That's what _I_ told him," Requiem muttered.

The Navis and humans were arranged in a sort of circle; Dingo and Tomahawkman has just finished telling April what they had encountered in the UnderNet.

"But at least we _found_ the nut job," Tomahawkman said. "So we know that Nocturne is right about this group wanting the Destiny Stream for something."

"But what would that 'something' be?" April asked.

"Nothing good, I can promise you that," Dingo said, hand on his chin.

April shifted her gaze. "Requiem, is there anything you want to add?"

"There is nothing I wish to speak of about the situation at this point."

Nocturne frowned slightly. _Did she… hesitate before saying that? What's going on that she's hiding from us?_

A loud grumble split the air.

"Ah, it's dinner time," Dingo said sheepishly. "We'll head out now." He stood up, and so did April.

"Yeah, food sounds good right about now," she said. "Will you guys be at work on Monday?"

"Yeah. We need to tell everyone what's happening."

April nodded. "See you tomorrow then."

Nocturne waited until Dingo and Tomahawkman had left and April was busy in the kitchen before going over to where Requiem was sitting. "Hey," he said, sitting down next to her. She watched him, and didn't respond. "Is everything all right?"

"Nothing I wish to talk about," she said, looking away from him.

Nocturne frowned. "April and I heard you calling for help Requiem. What happened?"

Requiem sighed and drew her knees to her chest. "That meeting where I stopped Tomahawkman from attacking Dragonman… he said there were about ten thousand other Navis there, right?"

"Yeah."

"There aren't anymore," she said, her voice heavy.

Nocturne drew in a sharp breath. "You mean… Bass…?"

"No," she said, her eyes flickering and changing before she closed them. "Me."

* * *

><p>Remember how I said I wanted to finish this before June?<p>

PFT

…

Short chapter is short

Next time!

With the Destiny Stream close to completion, Dragonman's plan prepares to get underway; but first, he plans to recruit a new Navi to his cause… and what better way to force someone to come with you than by using a program developed by the scientist herself?

**Leave a review please! :D**


	10. Captured!

Chapter 9

"Captured!"

Dragonman sighed and wiggled his clawed toes, and the last of the paint flecks _finally_ fell off. There was no one left from _that_ meeting, so there was no need to keep up the charade.

Dragonman frowned as he remembered that night. A prospective meeting, with many more Navis there he could control… until Requiem showed up.

His lip curled. He had been so sure—_so sure_—that Requiem would not fight back. He had observed her, seen what she had done, and what she didn't do. He hadn't believed the rumors that she was Bass' copy. An imitation, perhaps, but a direct copy…?

He hadn't believed, and it had cost him.

"You've failed me Dragonman."

The Navi let anger flash across his features, before composing them and turning to face the call screen with a calm face. As always, his employer was sitting in a darkened room—the person himself was just a slightly lighter shadow against the dark background.

"I have _not_ failed," Dragonman replied, letting his voice go cold. "It is just a small setback."

He had the sense that his employer raised his eyebrows. "Small? The loss of ten thousand potential soldiers can hardly be called _small_."

Dragonman curled his hands into fists behind his back, working to keep his face composed. "With that loss we have a potential for great gain."

The human was silent for a minute. "Explain."

"That group was destroyed by a single Navi; an independent by the name of Requiem."

"And?" He sounded unimpressed.

"Requiem is truly a copy of Bass: she has his powers, his abilities, and his skill—but not his unconquerable personality. Not yet." He held out a hand to the side, palm up. "If she could be controlled, she would become a powerful ally."

"Yes…" the human said softly. "She could be made to serve us…" He was quiet for a long time.

"Very well," he finally said. "Keep to the schedule, but do what you can to gain control of Requiem. Use any means necessary. Everything would work much smoother with her on our side."

Dragonman bowed his head, hiding his satisfied, sharp-toothed smile. "As you wish."

-0-

Requiem sneezed.

"Sorry," she said, sniffling and bumping against Nocturne. "How do you stand traveling in a space this small?" She asked again, looking around the tiny space of the PET.

Nocturne shrugged. "You get used to it," he said.

"But normally, you're not trying to squeeze two Navis into one either," April added, walking into the lab. Chaud and Lan were at their terminals, and Dingo was talking to Dr. Hikari, but no one else was there.

"Where is everyone?" She asked, stepping up behind Chaud.

"Their internship ended," he replied, not taking his eyes off the screen. "Hideaki, Naeva, and Jie are all students, remember? Classes started back up again today."

"Ah, that's right," April said. She gave him a kiss on the cheek, then headed over to where Dr. Hikari and Dingo were standing.

"Dr. Hikari?"

"Ah, April," he said, turning to her. "I understand we have a guest today?"

She nodded and flicked the hand holding her PET towards the port; the two Navis appeared on screen.

"Requiem," Dr. Hikari said, nodding. "It's been a long time."

"Hello doctor," she said, nodding in return.

Dr. Hikari gave her a long, hard look, then nodded again. "Dingo's been telling me how you saved Tomahawkman. Thank you."

"You can thank me after Dragonman has been stopped," Requiem said, her gaze cooling. "He is after this program—whatever it is you are making."

"Ah, yes, but he can't get in here." Dr. Hikari smiled. "This lab currently isn't connected to the Net—not even the SciLab Net. No Navi can get in without jacking in directly to a port here in the lab."

"I see…" Requiem said, then she turned and wandered to look closer at the Destiny Stream cube.

"Well, let's get started," Dr. Hikari said, clapping a hand on April and Dingo's shoulders. "Without the other three here, we'll have to work twice as hard to finish and debug the Destiny Stream. Hop to it!"

April headed back to her terminal, slipping her PET in its pouch. Nocturne appeared on one of her screens. "Ready?" He asked.

"Yep."

She rested her fingers on the keyboard when a bright flash erupted from all the screens, blinding everyone.

-0-

Dragonman allowed himself a tight smile at the scientist's words.

_Ah, but if only you knew, you fool,_ he thought. _Navis I control are _everywhere_ in the Net—even here in SciLab. All I had to do was order one to reconnect this lab… and here we are_. His smile widened. _In the perfect moment to gain _two_ new powerful soldiers…_

He glanced at the group of Musclemen behind him. Each silently signaled _ready_. Dragonman looked down at the lab's Net below, where the group was preparing to work on the program.

_Requiem… I didn't expect to find you here. My intention was to test this on Megaman, to be sure it would work on you as well. But now I can kill two viruses with one shot._

He aimed his hands downwards, took a deep breath, and activated the program he had stolen.

"Data Freeze!" He shouted, and a blinding white light erupted from his hands, engulfing the entire network.

-0-

April blinked rapidly in shock, trying to clear her vision.

_It can't be…_ she thought. _It _can't_ be…_

Blinking around the purple blob in the middle of her sight, she took one look at Nocturne and gasped. "No!"

"Megaman! Megaman! Can you hear me?"

Lan was pounding uselessly on the screen. April looked up, and gasped again.

Megaman, Protoman, Tomahawkman, Nocturne… _and even Requiem…_ they were all frozen and slightly transparent, their codes swirling underneath their skin.

_It's… my program…_ _someone got a hold of my Data Freeze program._

_And they've made it even _more_ powerful…_

Laughter came from the Net, and several figures dropped down, surrounding Megaman and Requiem.

"You!" Dingo shouted at the one Navi who remained in the air. "You're that Navi we tried to stop the other day! You're Dragonman!"

April looked at the black and red Navi. He grinned, his wings flapping slowly.

"Very good human," he said. "You've managed to figure out who I am. But you and your pathetic Navis are too late to stop me." His smiled widened, showing off his fangs. "And with this last step, the preparations to the destruction of your race are almost complete. Soon we shall show you fools the real power of the cyber world!"

Laughter came from the real world this time. April blinked, and looked over at Lan.

"The _real _power?" Lan laughed. "Please! Megaman and I have lost count of the number of things we've beaten claiming to be the _real_ _power _of the Net! What makes you any different?"

Dragonman's smile hardened. "The fact that Megaman will no longer be on your side."

"What?"

Dragonman snapped, and Muscleman and all his copies grabbed Megaman and Requiem. Dragonman snapped again, and they joined him up in the air.

"Good luck trying to figure out how to save the world without your precious _better half_," Dragonman snarled. April blinked, and they were gone.

Nocturne gasped and collapsed on her screen.

"Nocturne!" she shouted, palms flat on the screen. "Are you okay?"

He rubbed his chest. "So _that's_ what the Data Freeze feels like," he said. "No wonder Bass wanted to kill me after I used it on him."

"Lan…"

Footsteps sounded next to her, and April looked up to see Chaud running over to Lan.

"No…" the young man said, his voice thick. "Not again… they can't… why…?" He threw his head back, both hands clenched into fists, and screamed to the ceiling and the sky beyond.

"MEGAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!"

* * *

><p>Props to anyone who spotted the Star Wars reference. XD<p>

And I cut out the other three programmers because I kept forgetting about them… . when you have to look up a character's name every time you want to use them, they're not important enough. So they got the ax.

*shrugs*

Short chapter is short again.

Sorry!

And for those who don't recognize the Data Freeze, go back and take a look at Requiem's Awakening again… about the 3rd and 4th chapters… ish... ^^

Next time!

The situation looks hopeless… but perhaps there's a way that Megaman and Requiem can escape before they're forced to destroy others… perhaps…

**Leave a review please!**


	11. Necessary Pieces

Chapter 10

"Necessary Pieces"

Megaman groaned. Every part of his body ached. He slowly opened his eyes, dimly noticing that he was laying his stomach.

"Welcome back."

He looked up. Requiem was sitting on the other side of a slightly transparent wall, with her knees to her chest. "Where did I go?" He croaked.

"Out. You were unconscious for quite a while."

Megaman rose to his hands and knees, groaning the whole time. "What happened?"

Requiem gave him a long look. "We were ambushed," she finally said, looking away. "Dragonman used some sort of program that froze us all, grabbed you and me, and here are." She waved her hand around. A faint amber ring circled her wrist. Megaman squinted, and he saw the same ring on her other arm and both of her legs.

"What are those things on your arms?"

Requiem looked at her arm, a tight smile pulling at her lips. "Limiters. Lovely little things."

Megaman looked down, and breathed a silent sigh of relief when he saw his limbs were missing the limiters.

"I imagine you don't have any because you're not in contact with your NetOp," Requiem said, answering his unvoiced question. She held her arm out, looking at the small programs.

Megaman stood, stretching his arms and wincing at the twinges. "Well, let's try to get out of here." He placed a hand on one of the walls, pressing against it. "One solid hit should be able to punch through this." He glanced over at Requiem, still sitting and looking at her arm. Turning back to the wall, he looked at the Battle Chip data he already had loaded.

_Cyber Sword… Z-Cannon… Spreader… I don't think any of those are powerful enough…_ He took several steps back, his arm held out. _But maybe I can weaken it a little._

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Requiem look up. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to get out," he said. "Spreader, download!" His arm transformed into a small gun, and he fired. The smoke cleared, and the wall looked exactly the same.

"You're just wasting your time."

Megaman jumped, his arm transforming back as he whipped around. A tall black Navi stood on the other side of his cell, wings folded behind his back, and his arms crossed in front of his chest. "Not even Requiem at her full strength could break out of that," he continued.

Megaman felt his eyes narrow. "You must be Dragonman."

The other smiled, showing off wicked fangs. "Correct. It is an… honor to finally meet _you_, Megaman."

"I can't say I feel the same about you," Megaman replied, walking to stand across from Dragonman. "What do you want from us?"

"Just some necessary pieces of data," Dragonman said, wiggling his fingers. "It'll only take a moment to copy—you won't feel a thing."

"You didn't answer my question."

Dragonman's grin widened. "I did, just not to the extent you would like." He held out his hand, palm towards Megaman. "Are you ready?"

Megaman took a step back. "What are you—?"

"Data Freeze!"

-0-

As Megaman attacked the wall, Requiem searched through her memories again, back to right before the Alpha Revolt. Bass had been in the same situation then; she scowled as she watched the memories replay.

_Even he couldn't get out of them… how am I supposed to…?_

_"Requiem…"_

She blinked at the whisper in the back of her mind. "Bass?" She said quietly.

"_We are the same, but you are not as I was on that day. Not yet. Don't rely on the past to help you out of your current situation."_

She put her head in her hands. "But I can't…

_"Think, you fool! Stop feeling sorry for yourself!"_

A flash of white light blinded her even with her hands covering her eyes. She rubbed them and looked up. "Megaman!"

The small blue Navi stood frozen in his own cell, a look of shock on his face, code swirling under his transparent skin. Dragonman waved his hand, and the wall of Megaman's half of the cell vanished. He walked forward, gesturing to a Muscleman behind him, who held a small cube.

Requiem jumped up, feeling the power swirl under her skin, until it met the limiters, dissipating it before it could gather in her hands. "You leave him alone!" She shouted, pounding her hands against the wall.

Dragonman looked over at her, his smile widening. "How rude of me. Yes, ladies first, if you insist."

Requiem bared her teeth as he walked toward her. He placed a hand out and the wall disappeared. His hand still outstretched, he opened his mouth…

Requiem punched him.

It was a pathetic attempt; she couldn't do much with the limiters, but it still worked. Surprised, Dragonman fell back, his hand flying to his face. Requiem dashed around him, dodging behind the Muscleman standing stupidly behind Dragonman. She reached Megaman as the Data Freeze on him shattered, leaving him stunned. She grabbed his arms, spun around in a tight circle and let go, propelling him out of the open cell.

"Run!" She screamed.

-0-

The Data Freeze broke, and Megaman found himself hurling through the air.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" He screamed, then landed facefirst with a THUD. Groaning, he sat up, shaking his head.

"Run!" Requiem screamed; he looked back. Dragonman grabbed her and threw her against the opposite wall. There was a laud CRACK, and a large fissure ran up the wall away from the point of impact. Requiem slid down the wall and landed in a heap. She didn't move.

Dragonman walked towards her as blue sparks began to surround her frame, a large cube in his hand when a punch sent Megaman flying to the side.

He shook his head and jumped back, dodging a second attack from Muscleman. Megaman grit his teeth and activated his Cyber Sword. He fell into a defensive stance facing Muscleman, and took a deep breath. The large Navi charged, and Megaman struck. Muscleman collapsed.

Megaman straightened and turned back to the cell. Dragonman squished the cube between his hands, then grabbed Requiem by the neck and leapt up, spreading his wings and shooting across the sky over Megaman's head.

"No!" Megaman shouted, his hand outstretched. Dragonman flew, Requiem dangling from his grip like a limp rag, and then they disappeared.

Letting his arm transform back, Megaman clenched his fists.

"Me…man…? ega… an… Mega… man?"

The blue Navi looked up. "Lan?"

"Mega… man?" The call came back, patchy and full of static. "Can you… r me?"

"Lan! I can hear you! What's going on?"

"…plain later. Log out."

Megaman took a deep breath and allowed the program to return him to his PET. It took longer than normal, but soon he was back home, and Lan was grinning down at the screen.

-0-

The connection suddenly severed. Bass stiffened.

"Requiem?" He spoke softly, stretching out with his mind; she was nowhere to be found.

It was as if she simply ceased to exist.

Bass stood still for a moment, then shot forward. The UnderNet flashed by beneath him, and his cape flapped against his speed.

Soon, he arrived at the place where Requiem disappeared. The remains of a small double-cell sat abandoned. One wall had a large crack running from top to bottom.

Bass landed and walked inside, staring at the crack. He played through the images again, frowning behind his cloak. Once Dragonman took a certain part of her code, that's when the memories stopped.

He slowly walked around the cell, gathering data. He reached the middle and stopped. He looked down at the ground, then out the open wall of the cell.

"Megaman…"

* * *

><p>Ehehehehehehe! Poor Requiem. I'm really putting her through the wringer in this story. Her misery isn't over yet!<p>

Next time: the attack begins!

**Leave a review please!**


	12. It Begins

Chapter 11

"It Begins"

"I see you've managed to not mess this one up, Dragonman."

He allowed himself a tight smile. "I'll take that as a compliment." No need to bring up the fact that he had had Megaman too. No. With Requiem on their side…

His employer shifted slightly, looking at the motionless Navi standing behind Dragonman. Requiem was partly in shadow, her cape draped over her frame. "If she is as powerful as you say, she will be a critical asset indeed."

Dragonman waved a hand. "You saw the recording. You know the rumors."

"Rumors can hardly be trusted."

"These ones can." Red eyes glinted as Dragonman's smile hardened.

His employer was quiet, then he stood. "Very well. Now is the time. You know the plan."

"And the humans?"

"I will lead the attack myself. We will converge on SciLab and have access to the necessary weapons there."

"Very well," Dragonman said, pulling out several cubes from storage. "We will meet there in three hours time."

"Until then." His employer hung up, and Dragonman reached out and deleted the conversation from the Net's history.

"Musleman!"

While he waited for the lumbering idiot, Dragonman arranged the seven control cubes in front of him—six in a circle, with one in the middle. He placed a finger on the middle cube, and Requiem twitched.

Dragonman's smile was laced with satisfaction. Requiem had been difficult enough that controlling her required her own control cube. The other six had tens of thousands of UnderNet Navis ready and waiting to be taken control of.

"Yes, Dragonman?"

"Gather your copies. We march on SciLab!"

Muscleman bowed his head and ran out. Dragonman turned back to the cubes, his grin sharp and aimed at Requiem. "Are you ready?" He whispered.

She remained silent.

Obedient.

"Lead the way, Requiem."

Her fingers, barely visible under her cloak, twitched, and she leapt into the air. Dragonman spread his wings and flew after her, the cubes hovering in front of him.

-0-

Nocturne shivered.

April glanced up at him. "What is it?"

He shook his head. "I dunno. Just… a creepy sort of feeling."

"Hm." April turned back to the Destiny Stream. She was inside the cube, working on some wiring underneath the floor. "The lab _is_ a bit creepy without the boys around."

"How long do you think it will take them to find Megaman and Requiem?" Nocturne asked from the screen projected on the side of the cube.

"Hard to say," Dr. Hikari piped up from the main computer. "They've been looking since they were taken yesterday, but…"

Nocturne shook his head. "From what I've heard of all their adventures, it sounds like you should just keep Megaman permanently leashed in an inaccessible part of the Net."

Dr Hikari burst into laughter. "Sometimes I consider that myself. Trouble just seems to follow them, doesn't it?"

"Like electricity on wires. Ouch," April added, putting one of her fingers in her mouth.

"Ah, you've almost got it there April," Dr. Hikari said, looking at the screen. "Just two more, and we'll have power back to the Destiny Stream."

"Yes; and we've learned why it's _bad_ to try to run the program without subjects in it, right?" April added in a testy tone, glancing up at the doctor.

"It was an experiment!"

Nocturne laughed. It didn't get rid of the uneasy feeling though. He dug back into the program, trying to get his mind off the nervous feeling . Only a few minutes had passed when he saw the red blip of a window that indicated urgent news. Frowning, he opened it up. As he watched the newscast, his face got more and more pale.

"April, Dr. Hikari, you need to have a look at this." He threw the window at the monitor, and the news channel filled the screen.

"Again, this is a _live_ feed we're showing you from downtown DenTech," the reporter said. "There are thousands of these people, and they are all to be considered armed and dangerous. In the two hours since this march has started, they've killed at least fifteen citizens and seven riot policemen."

The group watched as the helicopter camera zoomed in on Main Street. A huge mass of people, all wearing armor and carrying some sort of weapon, were jogging down the street, shooting at windows and doors and the police trying to stop them. The chill ran down Nocturne's spine again.

"We have received no word as to motivation or leadership behind this sudden attack, though there have been several reports of people hearing the attackers muttering "destroy, destroy." In the corner of the report, a small window opened up, showing a frightened face.

"They walked right past my window," the man said in a shaky voice, "and I heard them talking kinda like zombies do in the movies, ya know? That's what it sounded like. But instead of saying 'brains,' they were saying 'destroy.' Really freaky, ya know?"

The reporter's face replaced the interviewee's. "What could this mean? Is it possible these attackers are not fully under their own control? Or is it the mantra of a new terrorist group, following in the footsteps of World Three? Stay tuned, and we will give you live updates on the situation."

The reporter disappeared, and the screen was filled again with images of downtown.

"What was that," April said, her voice quiet, "you said earlier Nocturne? About having a creepy feeling?"

-0-

"You know, I just turned down the offer of a gun from the Net Police the other day too."

Chaud flapped his hand at Lan, shooting him a glare. "If you're just going to complain and not scout, then go back with Dingo and help keep that family safe."

Lan scowled, but when it spoke again, it was in a whisper. "I'll go look out the windows upstairs, see if they have anyone on the roofs."

Chaud nodded, and Lan disappeared up the stairs.

The young heir watched him go, then turned his attention back to the street outside. So many of these armed people had walked past, each of them wearing armor that covered their chests, heads, arms, and legs up to the knees. It was unmarked.

_Who are these people?_ Chaud thought, ducking back down as another faceless terrorist turned towards the window. _Is it World Three again? Or is this someone completely new to the game? What do they want?_

"Chaud, sir."

He pulled his PET out of its case. "What is it Protoman?"

"Jack me into the Net. I may be able to find out some information from that end. Perhaps even a way out for you."

Chaud nodded. "Be careful."

"I will."

He flicked his wrist, and a beam of light shot from the PET to the computer sitting on the living room desk. The screen above his PET popped up, and his jaw dropped.

Protoman jumped out of the way, narrowly missing a hail of gunfire from a swarm of Navis. Armored just like the humans outside, a large portion of the group spotted Protoman and began to attack.

"Protoman! See if you can grab one of them, then get out of there!"

"Yes sir!"

Protoman dodged and wove, and grabbed one of the assailants by the collar and dragged him on. Chaud clenched sweaty fists, watching his Navi miss deletion again and again. Even after all their years together, all their fights, moments like this still terrified him.

A warning icon flashed in the corner of Chaud's screen. "Protoman, behind you!"

He turned, and the Navi attacking his back charged, stopped, then fell to pieces.

"You think we're gonna let you have all the fun out here?"

"Tomahawkman!" Chaud grinned. "Thanks."

Tomahawkman returned the grin, hefting his ax. "Megaman's cleared the way to the Net of the home our NetOps are in. Let's go see what we can find out."

Protoman nodded and ran after him, dragging the protesting terrorist behind him.

-0-

Dragonman flew over the Net, his cheeks hurting from grinning so much. Requiem flew below him, waiting until a manipulation of her control cube gave her a new command.

Dragonman glanced over and saw a group of his Navis falling back beneath an attack of police Navis. He reached out, fingers playing across the surfaces of two cubes—one in the upper right, and the one in the center. His Navis fell back and Requiem shot over to the group, balls of light gathering in her palms. She landed in the center of the mass, and Dragonman felt a thrill of pleasure seeing the police flinch away. He closed his eyes, but the flash of Requiem's Earthbreakers was still bright enough to almost blind him. When he opened his eyes again, Requiem was flying beneath him, cap flapping against the wind. All that remained of the group was a large crater.

It was just as well that he had pulled his own Navis back, Dragonman thought as he looked around the battlefield. He didn't want to lose anymore to Requiem than he already had.

The mob of Navis pushed forward, following the commands planted into their minds.

_March to SciLab._

_ Don't stop._

_ Destroy anything that gets in your way._

-0-

Protoman, Tomahawkman, and Megaman looked at the Navi they had tied up. He was twitching, and glaring up at them.

"He's from the UnderNet—that much you can tell by his appearance," Protoman said.

"Well, _obviously_," said Lan from a chat window. "But is he the only one?"

"I doubt it," Chaud said, his fists clenched. "If a majority of these Navis are from the UnderNet, that would explain why the police are having so much trouble. But how did they all manage to cooperate long enough to work together like this?"

"I don't think they are…" Dingo said slowly. "Look at the way he's acting. I don't think he had a choice."

Megaman twitched. Chaud watched him, frowning, but nothing else happened.

Protoman's frowned echoed his own. "What's he saying?"

Tomahawkman leaned forward, listening to the Navi they had caught and repeating what he said.

"March on SciLab… Don't stop… destroy anything… march on SciLab… don't stop…"

Goosebumps rose on the back of Chaud's neck, and from the looks on the other faces, they had the same sense of dread.

"He's being controlled for sure," Megaman said.

"They're headed for SciLab," Lan said.

"They'll overwhelm the network," Protoman said.

"There are weapons at SciLab," Dingo whispered.

"They're going to try to destroy the world," Tomahawkman said.

"April is at SciLab," Chaud said, chills running up and down his arms. He stood. "I've got to go there."

"How?" Dingo asked. "The minute you step outside, you'll get shot to pieces!"

Chaud glanced around, and spotted something out the back window.

A motorcycle.

He ran into the kitchen, startling the family huddled there. "I'm commandeering your bike!" He shouted, flashing his Net Police badge at them, and dashed outside. He threw on the helmet, revved the engine, and shot out into the street, weaving between people until he found an alleyway.

_Hang on April! I'm coming!_

-0-

"There." April sat up, brushing her hands together. "It's all wired up. How's it looking over there, Dr. Hikari?"

There was a pause before the doctor responded. "It's all back online. Thanks April."

"No problem." She stood, and brushed off her pants.

With a deafening explosion, the door to the lab blew in.

* * *

><p>CLIFFHANGER, MUWAHWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!<p>

Hey, guess what time of year it is? It's NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) again! You know, I started this fic during NaNoWriMo two years ago. Maybe I'll finish it this year? That's one of the goals! (the others are finish The Hero of Time and get the first draft of a new novel at least mostly finished) The best part about this year? I don't have school to distract me from writing! (I have Child, but I can write when she sleeps, hehe) WOOOOO LET'S GET 50K THIS YEAR

*ahem*

Next time!

Who is this strange person leading the attack? How can they get Requiem to snap out of it?

**Leave a review please!**


	13. Kamikaze

Chapter 12

"Kamikaze"

April coughed, blinking dust out of her good eye. She groaned, rubbing the back of her head where it had hit the Destiny Stream wall. Just outside the box, Dr. Hikari lay on the ground, blood slowly dripping from his right shoulder.

"Dr. Hikari?" April whispered.

He stirred. "Ugh…"

Two helmeted figures appeared out of the smoke and grabbed him under the arms, dragging him over to the main console. April winced as he screamed. She staggered to her feet, one hand on the wall for support.

"I wouldn't go any farther."

One of the figures who had grabbed Dr. Hikari—or was it a third one?—stood in the doorway, gun pointed at her chest. She squinted at him—the voice had been masculine. "Who're you?"

"Sit," he replied, gesturing with the gun. Stubborn, she stayed standing. "I said, _sit_."

_Bang!_

April gasped, jerking back against the wall. Fire spread through her right leg, and blood started to ooze out of the bullet hole in her thigh. She slid down the wall in shock, staring at the man.

"April!" Nocturne yelled. "April, press your hands against it! You have to stop the bleeding."

"Listen to your Navi," the man said. "He's smart. Now, stay there, and don't get in my way. I have a world to destroy."

His words barely registered through the pain.

Pain. This pain. She had felt it, once before, when she had been shot in the eye.

"Nocturne…" she whispered, pressing shaking hands against her leg. "What's going on?"

"These are the people from the news report," he whispered back, moving the screen to sit right by her head. "They just blew down the door to the lab. What they want here…" he paused, then let out a heavy swear. "He's forcing Dr. Hikari to activate the weapons systems. The experimental rockets…"

April's breath caught. _No... _

"Stop him Nocturne!"

-0-

Nocturne dashed to the slowly activating program. He reached out for the emergency stop code, and something blasted into his side, knocking him away.

He cried out as he hit the ground, rolling to a stop. He laid there for a moment, curled in a ball. Slowly, he raised his head, looking up at his attacker. Smoke from the attack cleared, and his jaw dropped. Requiem stood just a few feet away, her cloak and hair fluttering. She stared down at him, and Nocturne felt his breath catch.

Both her eyes were red.

Just like Bass.

"Requiem…" he whispered, forcing himself to sit up. He grit his teeth, clutching his side. "Requiem… what happened?"

She walked forward, murderous eyes never leaving his. She paused two steps from him, and her foot flew out from under her cloak, connecting with Nocturne's shoulder, sending him flying again.

"Gah!"

"Requiem!" April shouted, her voice shaky. "What's the matter with you?"

"There's no use talking to her." A voice said behind Nocturne. He sat up, clutching his side, glaring. Dragonman returned the glare with a grin. "You see, she answers only to me now, and there's nothing you can do to break the control." He gestured at the seven cubes hovering behind him.

"Control programs," Nocturne heard April breathe out. "So that's how you're doing it. That's so illegal…"

"The best things in life are," Dragonman said lightly; one of the cubes from the group floated around and stopped in front of him. He touched it; Requiem twitched, and walked over to stand by his side. "Requiem obeys my every command now." He dragged a finger across the surface; she flew over and grabbed Nocturne, throwing him up in the air.

"She's no longer your friend!" Requiem leapt up, punching Nocturne solidly in the face.

"She has reached her full potential!" She kept punching, each blow landing like a sack of bricks. Nocturne could feel his body start to fall apart.

"She will not hesitate to kill you!" She disappeared and reappeared above Nocturne. Spinning, she landed a kick in his side, and he shot downward, blowing a crater in the ground.

"All she awaits is my command," Dragonman finished in a hushed tone. Requiem landed next to him with a flutter of her cape.

Nocturne lay curled on his side. "Ugh…"

"Stop it!" He heard April shriek. "Leave him alone! What do you want Dragonman? You can have it, just leave Nocturne alone!"

Dragonman chuckled. The sound seemed fuzzy to Nocturne. Was he fading in and out? He hadn't felt this much pain in years.

New chip data appeared in his program. He gave it one look, and activated it immediately. The Recovery worked quickly, and his frame started solidifying again.

"Thanks April," he whispered. He got to his hands and knees, still feeling sore, but at least he was able to move. He crawled to the edge of the crater, watching the drama unfolding.

Dragonman was laughing, and Requiem stood silently next to him. They were both standing in front of the weapons program, which was now nearly a third of the way activated.

"What do _I_ want?" Dragonman said. "I want the same thing _he_ does." He pointed out the screen, at the human who had shot April and was now holding a gun to Dr. Hikari's head.

"You?" The doctor turned around to face him.

"Me," he said evenly.

"What do you want? And just who are you?"

While they were talking, Nocturne looked around. He caught April's eye. She moved her eyes over to the side, in the direction of the other Destiny Stream box. Nocturne looked at it, and gave her a confused look. She turned her gaze over to Requiem, then the box, then nodded.

With a jolt, Nocturne got it.

_Get Requiem in the box. Right… like that's gonna be easy. Or painless._

"All I want is the destruction of humankind. I've seen the sick things that they create. Things like technology. We need to start over—start anew. Without the burdens of man-created things."

"That's rich, coming from someone who's using _man-made things_ to hurt other people."

He turned, keeping the gun muzzle against Dr. Hikari's neck. "I wouldn't expect someone like you to understand. Be quiet girl."

"Why should I—"

"Who are you?" Dr. Hikari interrupted. Nocturne silently thanked the scientist. "Take off your helmet and show us who you are."

The figure seemed to consider that. Nocturne moved across the crater on his hands and knees, trying not to be spotted until he could get to the Destiny Stream.

"Very well. Since we are all going to be dead soon, I don't see any reason I couldn't." He reached up with his free hand and grabbed the helmet. Out of the corner of his eye, Nocturne saw April quickly mouth something to Dr. Hikari. Dragonman and Requiem, looking at the weapons program, didn't see it. Dr. Hikari's mouth set in a hard frown, then he nodded fractionally. Glancing up, he caught Nocturne's eye and nodded again.

Nocturne reached the end of the crater, and started edging slowly over to the box. _Just a little farther…_

The man took off his helmet, and Nocturne heard a strangled choke of surprise come from Dragonman.

The man had a head of grey hair, and a neatly trimmed grey beard. Lines edged his dark eyes and the corners of his mouth. "My name is Thomas Knight. I am the kamikaze who's going to destroy the human race."

"Tom?" Dragonman strangled out. "Is that really you?"

Knight's eyes moved from Dr. Hikari to Dragonman. "It is. I'm glad I found you again, Dragonman."

Nocturne reached the box. Tapping the glass to open the door, he stood up. "Hate to break up the reunion here, but isn't there something we should all be doing?"

Fury raced across Dragonman's face, and his fingers whipped across Requiem's control cube. She twitched, and Nocturne had barely enough time to brace himself before he was hurtled into the box.

Coughing, he got to his feet. Requiem walking in after him, red eyes glinting.

"I don't suppose you'll let me walk out."

"Of course not you idiot," Dragonman responded. Requiem lashed out, cracking her fist against Nocturne's face. She grabbed his arms, threw him up, and kicked him in the stomach. He soared out of the box.

"Now!" April yelled.

-0-

April staggered to her feet as Requiem attacked Nocturne. It tore at her, seeing her Navi get hurt like that. But this could be their only chance to free Requiem from Dragonman's control.

She made it to the middle of the box just as Requiem threw Nocturne out of the Net half of the program. "Now!" She yelled.

Dr. Hikari jabbed at his screen, and the Destiny Stream activated.

The white light started at the top of the boxes and moved quickly down, much more than it had the other times they had run it. April swallowed.

_I hope you know what you're doing Dr. Hikari…_

As the light passed over, she felt a tingly feeling all the way through her body. The pain in her leg dulled to a light throb. As the purple ooze began to cover the walls, she saw Knight smack Dr. Hikari with his gun. The scientist collapsed to the floor, and her view was completely blocked.

Lines of code swirled around the inside of the box, and April recognized some of them as lines she had written herself. This was Requiem's programming, all laid out flat on the walls of the box. There was one long strand that wasn't programming, but two long lines twisting around together. Her DNA.

The ooze began to flow towards her, and she could sense Requiem's thoughts as soon as it touched her. Frustration—anger—fear—and a cold sense of pleasure in her power.

Images, thoughts, and feelings flashed across April's mind. She wiggled her fingers, feeling the power beneath. She had her own memories, but… there… Requiem's. And even…

_Bass' memories._

A scream penetrated her being.

"What are you doing to me?"

April looked up and saw Requiem, doubled over in front of her. The Navi looked up, her eyes red and wild. "Stop it!" She screamed. "I have my orders! My commands! I know what I'm supposed to do! I know what I'm supposed to become!"

April placed her hands on Requiem's shoulders. "Fight it Requiem," she said, trying to let the Navi share in her determination, her sense of freedom. "You are not a killer. You are your own being. You don't have to listen to him."

Purple ooze swirled around the two females. "I… don't? This isn't… me?"

April shook her head. "No. You have a greater purpose Requiem."

"I…" One of her eyes flickered, changing from red to yellow and back again. "I can…"

There was a loud shattering sound, and the purple ooze disappeared under a loud electronic squeal. April was pulled in two different directions. She screamed, and allowed herself to be pulled along by the stronger force. She ran into something hard, and the world went black.

* * *

><p>mmm… yay, imagery.<p>

Well, that's what happens when you tell something from one point-of-view.

Don't worry, it'll get cleared up a bit next chapter.

Currently, NaNo is FABULOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUS. At this rate, I'll finish this before the month is out! :D

Next time!

What exactly happened to the Destiny Stream? And April, and Requiem? And who is this coming in on the scene? What else could go wrong?

**Leave a review please!**


	14. Loss of Control

Chapter 13

"Loss of Control"

Chaud skid around the corner, leaning so hard into the turn that his foot nearly touched the ground. A scattering of bullets whizzed past him, and he gunned the throttle for all it was worth, zipping away from the shooters.

_Looks like I'll have to go in the back door_, he thought, weaving between trees, benches, and the odd lamppost.

He shot past the Silver Tower—where their lab was—and the large group of terrorists gathered around it. Two buildings over was The Cube—a squat square of a building that had nobody surrounding it, and a passage underground connecting it to the Silver Tower. Only he, Dr. Hikari, and other Net Police knew about the passage, so it was a safe bet that it would be empty.

He rode the motorcycle into the lobby, dismounted, and headed for the basement. He glanced around the dim floor, heard and saw nothing, and moved forward. As he moved, he reached into the pocket of his vest and pulled out a small handgun, cringing slightly as he did so.

_I'm no good with these… but right now I'm glad Oda made me certify and always carry it with me. It might come in handy…_

He made his way over to a door marked STORAGE. He put the code in the keypad; it beeped quietly and unlocked. Chaud opened the door and took a step inside, when another, more urgent beeping came from his pocket.

"Chaud!" Protoman's voice followed the beeping.

Chaud jammed his gun back into his vest, pulling his PET out at the same time. "What?"

"I could use a little help, sir!"

Without even looking to see who was attacking his Navi, Chaud threw a Cyber Sword chip into the PET. Protoman skid to a stop and struck at the blue blur flying towards his face.

"Hrk…"

Chaud's jaw dropped. "Megaman!"

The Navi twitched, his left arm impaled by Protoman's sword, his right curled in a fist and being held back by Protoman's non-sword hand. "Don't st-stop," he stuttered, "d-d-destroy… m-m-ma-ma-march… don't-t-t-t stop…" he twitched again, and part of his Navi mark flickered.

"Megaman!" Lan said. "What are you doing? Protoman is your friend!"

"D-D-Destroy…" he leapt back, and his arm changed into a blue Cyber Sword.

"Lan! Don't give him battle chips!" Chaud snarled.

"I didn't! He already had that downloaded!"

Megaman twitched and leapt at Protoman, and the fight was on.

-0-

"Now!" April yelled, and Dr. Hikari jabbed at his screen.

Nocturne sat up just in time to see Requiem disappear behind a wall of purple ooze, fury and pain fighting for supremacy on her face. He looked towards the human world, and April had vanished behind her own wall of ooze.

He saw a movement from the corner of his eye. Knight struck Dr. Hikari, and the scientist collapsed; a small puddle of red began pooling beneath him. Nocturne reached out, activating the Net's phone system, and pushed the emergency button. It flashed twice, acknowledging his request and signaling that help was on the way, and he let out a sigh of relief.

"That was a bad idea."

Nocturne looked up. Dragonman was standing above him. He reached out, and dug his claws into the back of Nocturne's neck, lifting him up.

"What should we do with this?" Dragonman asked Knight, holding Nocturne up. Nocturne coughed, twisting and trying to get out of the other Navi's grip.

"Leave him. We need to stop this program. How do you do that?" Knight turned to the board recently vacated by Dr. Hikari.

Draonman was quiet; his grip tightened, and Nocturne gasped, feeling parts of his neck start to dissolve.

"I'm not sure," Dragonman said, "how it's done properly… but I do have an idea." Whipping around, he threw Nocturne at the Destiny Stream. The program shattered with the impact, and Nocturne collapsed inside the remnants.

Black clouded his vision. Vaguely, he saw Requiem kneeling next to him, her head in her hands. She was shaking. He tried to lift a hand, to reach out to her, and the darkness claimed him.

-0-

"Hm. Crude, but effective."

Dragonman felt something swell inside him at the praise from his former NetOp. A feeling he had not felt since… not for a long time, at least.

Requiem was crouching in the box, her head in her hands. When she didn't move, Dragonman turned back to the weapons program. "Are you sure that knocking the scientist out was a good idea?" He asked.

Tom ran his fingers just over the controls, a tight smile showing under his beard. "Now that the program has started warming up, all I need to do is find the "fire" button. It doesn't matter where these missles launch; they're experimental, which means that they could end up anywhere, including here." The smile widened. "And that suits my purposes just fine."

Dragonman nodded, watching the progress bar on the program slowly fill up, and odd sense of resignation flowing through his code.

"Tom…" he whispered, turning to face his former NetOp. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

The human looked down at his hands, then up at the Navi. "You know what I've been through, Dragonman. Humans are too far gone. We need a complete restart. Maybe another, better race will rise from the ashes of our civilization's destruction—like the phoenix from the old myths."

A spark, noticed out of the corner of his eye, caught Dragonman's attention. He turned, frowning. Two of his control cubes were sparking. Blue sparks were dripping from one in the lower left; the one in the middle was shedding red sparks.

_Oh no…_

He jumped out to it, but before he could reach it, a high-pitched scream erupted from Requiem. She rose into the air, hands clutching her head, twisting and writhing. Dragonman frantically ran his fingers over the cube, trying to calm her down. He finished, and she suddenly straightened. Slowly, she raised her arms, palms outward, and a huge beam of light shot out towards Dragonman.

He jumped back, her shot missing him and the cubes by a hair. He snarled.

"Final command activated," a robotic voice said from her cube. "Final command activated."

"Dragonman," Tom's voice was dark. "What is going on?"

Requiem turned, charging up another shot. Dragonman swallowed. "Something went wrong with the control program—possibly from her time spent in that Destiny Stream. She carrying out the final command I programmed in there… it shouldn't be executing yet, but…"

"And that final command would be?"

Dragonman swallowed again. "Destroy the Network."

Tom was silent. "If she destroys the Network before this program finishes, our plan will fall apart. You need to distract her long enough."

Dragonman clenched a fist. Distract Requiem? He wouldn't last ten seconds against her. They needed something else…

A beam of light erupted from a different place in the Net, striking Requiem in the back. She was knocked forward into the wall, causing a monitor to explode. Dragonman took a reflexive step back, looking around for the new attacker.

Requiem shook her head, floating out of the crater. She looked up, and her lips pulled back in a silent snarl as she spotted the newcomer.

Dragonman saw him too. The smoke cleared, revealing another figure wearing a flapping cloak, red eyes visible even through the smoke.

"You have changed," Bass said, staring down his copy.

Dragonman reached for the cube, but before he could touch it, it cracked.

"I've become better," Requiem replied, rising until she was at the same height as Bass. "I've become more powerful than you."

Bass glanced around, his grin appearing around the edge of his collar. "Care to test that claim?"

Requiem's grin mirrored his. "With pleasure."

Dragonman spread his wings and took off as fast as he could, skimming across the ground. This was a battle he had no desire to be close to.

* * *

><p>short chapter is short.<p>

Are you ready?

IT'S THE NO-HOLDS-BARRED REMATCH THAT EVERYONE WANTS.

YES.

This next chapter will test all of my writing ability. Hopefully, this scene comes out right. *crosses fingers*

Next time!

Requiem vs. Bass Round 2! FIGHT!

Oh, and Megaman vs. Protoman and Tomahawkman too. We can't forget about them!

**Leave a review please!**


	15. Rematch

Chapter 14

"Rematch"

Chaud gripped his PET tightly as Protoman dodged another strike. All the shouting hadn't done any good, and Lan was working hard at his PET, trying to free Megaman from whatever was wrong with him.

_What I wouldn't give for that Data Freeze Program right now…_ he thought.

Megaman jumped, struck, and twisted away from Tomahawkman, who had snuck up behind him.

"Get a grip Megaman!" Tomahawkman shouted. "You idiot; what are you doing?"

"Dest-t-t-t-troy…" Megaman stuttered.

Protoman dodged, and Chaud had had enough. "Protoman! You ready?"

"Bad idea Chaud."

"When is it ever a good idea?"

He caught a hint of his Navi's smile, and they activated Full Synchro.

-0-

When Requiem and Bass clashed, it reverberated with a shockwave that sent Dragonman to his knees. He had flown to the opposite side of the lab's Net, and he was beginning to think that that wasn't far enough. But he had to stay to work the weapons program.

If it, and he, survived this fight.

The two independent Navis disappeared; Dragonman could see sparks where punches and kicks were impacting. A bright flash of light exploded—Requiem and Bass flew in opposite directions, crashing into the walls. Requiem recovered first, flying out of the crater and throwing her tattered cloak off.

"Hubstyle!" She cried, and transformed in a flash. She shot forward, a blur, and flew fists first towards Bass. She knocked another chunk out of the wall, and backed up, looking around.

There was a flutter of cloth above, and Bass' cloak landed on her head. She ripped it off, but Bass was faster. He tackled her from above, hands on her neck, and they streaked to the ground. Requiem twisted, smacked him in the face with an elbow, and he flinched. She pushed away, blue sparks swirling around her neck.

"Clever," she said.

He simply stared back, and his form changed. Wings sprouted from his back, his fingers and feet grew claws, and the diamond on his forehead changed to a bird shape.

Requiem raised an eyebrow. "You're matching the Beast-Out against the Hubstyle? This will be interesting." She raised her hands, wrists and stripes shimmering with the power of the Hubstyle.

"Yes, it will," Bass agreed, holding out one of his hands, his wings twitching.

Requiem fired, and Bass flew upwards. He fired his own Earthbreaker; Requiem twitched to the side, and it shot past her.

She flew forward, grabbing Bass' wrist before he could power up another strike. Pulling him towards her, she brought her knee up and into his stomach. Bass doubled over, coughing. Twisting around, she flung him to the ground, hands pointed downwards.

"Earthbreaker!"

Bass opened his wings and slowed, and struck out with his claws, rending the attack in two. It carved a gulley in the ground just before he hit. Still on his back, he held both his hands up towards Requiem, and let the Beast-Out form fade. His hands merged together, into a large monstrous-looking head.

"The Grave Virus Beast…" Tom muttered. "I had heard about this, but never seen it…"

"Dark Messiah!"

Requiem's eyes widened, and she dashed to the side. The attack clipped her legs, sending her into a spin, and ending crashing into the ground.

"I had… forgotten about… that…" she said, straightening up and facing Bass, who was also on his feet.

"That was a mistake," he said quietly, and fired again.

-0-

Chaud dodged, and Megaman's Cyber Sword missed by a hair. He and Protoman reached out, one hand grabbing Megaman's wrist, the other, his throat.

"Guh…"

"Megaman, get a hold of yourself," Chaud grunted, straining against the Navi. "Fight the control, throw it off!"

"Maybe this will help!" Tomahawkman shouted, jumping high.

_GONG!_

Megaman's head rattled, the sound from the impact with the flat of Tomahawkman's ax echoing. His Sword disappeared, and he staggered forward. Chaud let him go, and he fell to his knees, clutching his head.

"That might've been a bit much…" Chaud said.

"Megaman?" Lan asked tentatively.

One hand still covering his face, Megaman held the other out towards Tomahawkman, transforming it into the MegaBuster. "D… Destroy…"

"Tch!" Chaud reached out, and a sword formed in his hand—Muramasa. He dashed forward, cutting the MegaBuster to pieces. Megaman flinched back, and a shower of blue sparks erupted around him. They faded, and he fell forward on his face.

"Lan?" Chaud called, stepping back.

"I don't know what… wait, the PET's back to normal now."

"Ughnnn…." Megaman stirred. "My head is killing me…"

"Hey, he's back to normal!" Tomahawkman said, grinning. "I guess the whack on the head _did_ help!"

Chaud simply shook his head, and he and Protoman broke the Full Synchro.

"Here Megaman," Lan was saying. "Take these. What happened?"

Megaman sat up, rubbing the back of his head, the purple lines of Recovery chips flowing over his body. "I'm… not really sure. I just… felt the need to destroy things. Kind of like when we first achieved the Hubstyle Lan," he said, turning to his NetOp. "Only it was… another voice telling me to do those things."

"Sounds like that control program," Chaud said, one hand on his chin. "Dragonman must've done something to you during the time he held you. But we broke it; either the control was weak, or something happened to the main program."

"Or both," Protoman added.

Megaman nodded, and stood up, his legs wobbling slightly. "Can I have one more Recovery Lan? I'll be back to normal then."

"Yeah, here you go. Chaud, where are you?"

The heir made his way down the tunnel, PET in hand. "I'm in The Cube, in the tunnel that runs from here to Silver Tower."

"What's it like over at SciLab?" Dingo asked, his normal care-free voice serious.

"Bad," Chaud said. "Those terrorist guys are everywhere, and I don't think things are much better in the Net. And if something _has_ happened to those control programs, then it could be in even worse shape now." He paused, then started running. "I've got to get to the Lab. You guys get here as fast as you can."

"Will do."

"Protoman, log out."

His Navi returned to the PET, and Chaud traded it for his gun, distaste swirling in his stomach.

_Hold on April… I'm coming._

-0-

Requiem crossed her arms in front of her face, throwing up her shield. Bass' attack split around her, and she lowered her arms, panting, but trying not to let it show.

"Getting tired?" Bass asked, splitting the Virus Beast so that it was only using one hand.

"Please; that was weak," she shot back, and jumped, appearing right in his face. He blinked, and she grabbed the arm that held the Virus Beast, angling it away from her. With her other hand, she grabbed at his neck, shoving him into the ground, landing with one knee on his chest. He grunted, his free hand trying to pull her off his neck. She grinned, and squeezed. He coughed.

_I _am_ stronger than him…_ she realized, watching him struggle under her grip. _I can destroy him… I don't need him… I'm powerful on my own…_

_"No, you're not."_

Requiem blinked at the feminine voice in her head. "What?"

Bass grabbed her wrist and held on tight, twisting the Virus Beast so that it was angled to the side, and fired off a massive blast. Requiem, distracted, lost her balance; Bass threw her over and into the attack. She blew backwards and into the wall; the Hubstyle started flickering, then finally disappearing.

Requiem stood, one hand on her head, legs wobbly. "Whoever you are, leave me alone," she growled at the voice in her head, then looked up. Bass was standing a little ways away, Virus Beast outstretched.

"This is where your madness ends," he said softly, his voice piercing. Light gathered in the mouth of the Virus Beast. Requiem took a deep breath, activating an ability stored deep in the Get-Ability Program.

"Dark Messiah!"

Bass fired, and Requiem smiled.

The attack flew towards her, then shot _around _her, and traveled back towards Bass. He had enough time to look surprised, and his own attack engulfed him.

Requiem let go of the Reflection, walking towards Bass. He was flat on his stomach, a gaping hold fizzing in his side. Sparks flew, trying to mend his program, but they could only do so much.

"I'm not mad," she said, standing over him. "I'm enlightened. I'm stronger than you, Bass… and I don't need you anymore."

He struggled to his elbows, and glared up at her. She held a hand up, and gathered energy in the area above her palm. Her grin widened, she opened her mouth to scream the attack name—

Pain exploded in her stomach.

"Hrk…"

Requiem fell to her knees, Earthbreaker disappearing, looking in shock down at the arm entering her middle. Bass was up on one elbow, his clawed hand outstretched right through her. "How…?"

Bass met her gaze evenly, and she noticed that the symbol on his forehead was once again in the shape of a bird, but shimmering at the same time.

_He managed to… activate Hubstyle_ and_… Beast-Out at the… same time?_

He pulled his arm out with a sickening sound, and she fell forward. He staggered to his feet, one hand holding the hole in his waist.

"You may have gained power, Requiem, but you've forgotten control," he said, eyes digging into hers.

There was a sound behind her, and Bass looked up. His eyes hardened. "Dragonman…" he said, the Beast-Out and Hubstyle fading. "I'll… deal with you… later…"

He collapsed right next to Requiem. The last thing she saw before drifting off herself, was his face.

Phew.

GUYS FIGHT SCENES ARE SO HARD

HRGHNNNNNNNNNNN

In other news, I'm just over a day ahead in NaNo! I was 2 days ahead for a while, but I had an easy couple of days, so I've fallen down to less than a day ahead.

Tho by the time this gets up, NaNo might be over anyways, haha.

Updating once a week is pretty good, isn't it? It's a lot easier to do when I have the chapters written beforehand. And the internet.

Yeah… internet is kinda important.

Next time!

Requiem and Bass' battle may be over, but there's still the small matter of Dragonman and Thomas Knight to deal with. Will Chaud, Lan, and Dingo arrive in time to stop them and save April and Dr. Hikari before they bleed to death?

(yeesh. Maybe I should change the rating to T, considering what's happened in the past couple of chapters…)

**Leave a review please!**


	16. Annihilation

Chapter 15

"Annihilation"

Dragonman struggled to his feet, his knees feeling weak.

"How are you feeling Dragonman?"

"I'm fine Tom," the black Navi said, turning to face his former NetOp. "Though a little shaky. That was extremely intense."

Tom nodded thoughtfully, shifting his gaze from his Navi to the computer. "You know, I never really was good with these things," he said, off-handedly. "It's only gotten worse as I've gotten older."

"I know. That's what I was for, remember?"

A slight smile appeared under Tom's neatly trimmed beard. "How is it looking?"

Dragonman flew over to the program, flying over the fizzing bodies of Bass and Requiem. Both were out cold, and both had large holes in their middles. Sparks danced around their frames, slowly healing them, but acting slow enough that there should be nothing for Dragonman to worry about. He reached the program, and located the correct display. "It's about seventy eight percent loaded," he said. "It's moving a little slower than before, but it's amazing that it's still intact, considering the battle that just happened."

Tom nodded, looking at the screens in front of him. "And once it is completely finished, I put in the coordinates, press fire, and then wait for the end."

"You won't get that far," a new voice said from the door.

Dragonman turned to look, and nearly turned into the point of a blade. It was held by a red and white Navi, with dark shades over his eyes and a hard-set line of a mouth.

Dragonman felt his own mouth twist into a grin. "Ah, you must be Protoman. What an honor it is to finally meet you."

"You are under arrest for destruction of the Net and the murder of Navis," Protoman said, his voice and sword steady. "And for the illegal use of a control program."

"April!"

Dragonman glanced out the monitor into the human world. A young man with black and white hair—he could only be the famous Chaud Blaze—had run into the Destiny Stream cube, and knelt next to the girl inside. She was pale, and didn't move; blood still oozed slowly from the bullet hole in her leg.

"What did you do to her?" He growled, looking up at Tom and Dragonman.

"And where's her Navi?" Protoman added, moving the tip of his sword forward and placing it right on top of Dragonman's Navi mark.

"It's more like what she did to herself," Dragonman shrugged, sinister smile still plastered on his face. "The fool tried to merge with Requiem; the program couldn't take it, and exploded." His lie came easily. "Her Navi's somewhere in the mess."

"You don't get bullet wounds from the Destiny Stream," Chaud said, his voice hard. He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and tied it tightly around her leg.

"No, you get them from not listening," Tom said, his voice just as hard. "She's a head-strong idiot, and she got nothing less than what she deserved."

There was the crack of gunfire, and the Destiny Stream cube shattered. Chaud fired again, and Tom dodged. Dragonman took advantage of Protoman's distraction to dodge back and around the sword. He twisted, grabbing Protoman's wrist and jarring his hand, knocking his weapon out of his grip. Protoman tried to pull away, but Dragonman opened his wings with a snap, shooting up and dragging the Navi with him.

He stopped, hovering for a second, allowing Protoman a glimpse of the ground far below him, then dropped him. He let him fall for a couple of seconds, then folded his wings in, streaking down until he was beside Protoman. He sliced out with his claws, and Protoman cried out. Dragonman grinned, and struck out again.

Protoman grabbed his arm, twisting so that Dragonman was beneath him. He held his hand out, and the Demon's Blade appeared in his palm.

They landed, Dragonman crashing on his back. Protoman leapt off his chest just at the moment of impact, landing several feet away. Dragonman groaned, his wings de-rizzing and unusable. He rolled over onto his side, looking up at Protoman.

"You can't win," Protoman said, his half-covered face unreadable. "Surrender and I won't have to delete you."

Dragonman laughed, though it sounded more like a wheeze. "I'm the least of your worries." He pointed to the monitor with a shaky hand. Protoman turned, twitching in surprise.

Tom was standing next to the remains of a smoking computer, left arm hanging uselessly, gun held outstretched in his right arm. Chaud was sitting in the remains of the destroyed Destiny Stream, gun at his feet, and clutching his side. His hand was drenched in red.

"You need to work on your aim," Tom said, his voice calm and betraying no pain he must be feeling. "Without the computer, there's no way to control the missiles now. Once the program activates, they'll launch, and that's the end of your worries."

Protoman turned, looking for the program, and Dragonman struck. He sliced at the air, disc-like projectiles shooting from his claws, catching Protoman in the legs. He gasped, and fell.

"No…"Chaud bit out through clenched teeth.

Suddenly, the elevator door _ding_ed.

Tom looked up, his gun following. The door opened, and two lasers shot out, latching onto the computer, followed by two more young men. Tom fired again and again, emptying the gun. He threw it aside, and pulled another from his belt.

Dragonman forced himself to his feet and found an ax at his throat.

"Hello again," a familiar Indian Navi grinned from next to him.

"You…"

"I've got this joker Megaman!" He shouted over his shoulder. "You stop that program!"

"Got it!"

Dragonman lashed out again. His hand was caught. He looked up with surprise at the Navi.

"I don't think so!" The ax smacked against his head, and he fell into blackness.

-0-

The second Tomahawkman was jacking in, Dingo dashed out of the door, driving the opposite direction as Lan. He pulled his small, military-issue handguns out of the holster on his back, and fired.

The terrorist had decided to follow Lan, to his misfortune. Dingo's shots caught him in the hand and arms, and he cried out in pain, dropping his weapon. Dingo ran forward, and kicked the dropped weapon away, in case he was faking. "You got that program Lan?" He asked, keeping his eyes on his bleeding enemy.

"It's almost useless… it's been shot up pretty bad. There's not much I can do here. Megaman?"

"I think I can stop it," the small blue Navi said.

A _GONG!_ rang out from the speakers. Dingo risked a glance up, and shook his head. Tomahawkman was standing triumphantly over the downed Dragonman. "You're having too much fun hitting people in the head today," he said.

"It gets the job done," Tomahawkman replied.

"I think I've got it," Megaman said. "Lan, you've got to put in the shut-down sequence. Can you do that?"

"Hum…" Lan sat down at the chair, experimentally pushing at the keyboard. "Yeah, it seems to work. Let me see if I can remember…"

Silence filled the lab, punctuated with Lan's keystrokes. Suddenly, the program let out a deceptively cheerful twitter, and went dark.

"Phew!" Lan said, wiping his forehead and leaning back. "That was—Dad!"

He jumped out of the chair, running to his father and gently turning him over. Dr. Hikari's glasses were cracked, and his face was half covered in blood. "Dad… Dad! Dad!"

"Para… medics are… coming…"

Dingo looked up, and Nocturne fell out of the shattered Destiny Stream program. "Nocturne!"

"How… long…?" Chaud's voice asked from the rest of the Destiny Stream.

Nocturne shook his head.

Chaud sighed, leaning back. With his free hand, he reached out and gently shook April's shoulder. "April… April, wake up. You need to wake up April."

There was an answering groan. "Chaud…?"

Dingo frowned. It was April's voice, but it hadn't come from her body. He looked up at the screen and saw Requiem sitting up, one hand clutching her head.

"Chaud?" Requiem said, but in April's voice. "What's… going on?"

The three boys stared at the screen. "April?" Dingo managed to strangle out.

"Dingo? When did you get here?"

Shocked speechless, Dingo looked at Lan, then Chaud. The heir went pale, and slumped against the wall in a faint.

So much blood and shooting…

Jeez, it's like a Joss Whedon film, haha.

Yeah, I think I'm gonna have to change the rating on this… ^^;

I'm surprised with how short this chapter is. It took me a while to write it…

Fight scenes are still HARRRRRRDDDDDDDD

Next time!

To the hospital!

**Leave a review please!**


	17. Healing

Chapter 16

"Healing"

April stared miserably at her body. It was lying in a hospital bed—yet again—and unmoving. It was like Grandpa's coma all over again, but with her own body.

It was the strangest feeling.

There was a hand on her shoulder. "April?"

She turned. Nocturne was standing there, a concerned look on his face. "Hey," she said.

"How are you feeling?"

She shook her head, the strange feeling of hair brushing her lower back. Requiem's hair was longer than hers. "I can't even begin to describe it. It's like this odd… well, out-of-body experience."

Nocturne chuckled and took his hand off her shoulder. "That's exactly what it is, you know."

April couldn't help but smile back. "That's true." She looked back through the screen, and her smile faded.

"What is it?"

"I'm worried," she said softly. "What if… what if…" she couldn't voice the thought.

Nocturne put an arm around her shoulders. "We'll get you back to normal," he said, his voice firm and confident. "Don't worry about that. We're all working on something."

"Destiny Stream was pretty trashed, huh?"

"Totally destroyed. All that was left was program fragments and glass splinters."

April sighed. "No going back that way then."

Nocturne shook his head. "Though I must admit," he added after a pause, "it's nice to be able to finally be able to give you a real hug."

April laughed and threw her arms around him. "That it is!"

The door to her room opened, and Dr. Cossack rolled into the room. "April?" He called.

"Over here Grandpa," she said, letting go of Nocturne and moving over so he could see her on the monitor.

He did a double-take, then chuckled, rolling his wheelchair over to sit between the bed and the monitor. "So it really happened. I wasn't sure what to think when Dingo called me."

April stayed silent.

"Ah, don't worry my dear. We'll get you fixed up just fine, just like we are everybody else. In the meanwhile," he tapped the edge of the screen, "you can get to know Requiem a bit better."

"That's the strange thing Grandpa. I don't know where she is." April looked down at her hands, the hands that she had coded, and was now controlling. "I mean, I can kind of tell that her consciousness is still here, in this body, but… it's like she's shut down. She isn't responding to anything I try anymore."

"That makes it sound like you were able to, at one point."

April nodded. "I was. During her fight with Bass, she… she almost killed him. I could hear her thoughts, sense her bloodlust…" she shivered. "It was so… _strange_. She was someone completely different. I don't know _what_ happened to her." She paused, and looked at her hands again. "I wish I could talk with her and figure this out."

"We'll have to get you back where you belong first," Dr. Cossak said, tapping his fingers on the arm of his chair. "Then this situation with Requiem might resolve itself. What happened to Bass afterwards?"

April closed her eyes, trying to think back. "I'm not sure. I don't think he was there when the paramedics arrived."

"There wasn't that much time between when we stopped the program and when they got there," Nocturne said, hand on his chin. "But I admit, I wasn't paying that much attention either. We were all too injured to pay much attention to anything other than ourselves."

Dr. Cossack nodded, though his eyes were sad. "Understandable. He tends to disappear like that."

"April."

She turned around; Protoman was standing behind them. "Protoman! How is Chaud?"

"He just got out of surgery," he said. "It was successful, and the doctor said he should make a full recovery."

April sank to her knees, muscles weak with relief. "Oh good," she managed to get out. "Is he awake?"

Protoman shook his head. "No. It'll take the better part of the rest of the day for the anesthesia to wear off."

"Can I come visit him anyways?"

A small smile crept across Protoman's face. "Of course." He nodded to Nocturne and Dr. Cossack, and disappeared to another section of the Net.

"Chaud was in surgery?" Dr. Cossack asked.

"Yeah," Nocturne said, kneeling down next to April. "He got shot several times in the stomach area. April was shot in the leg, and Dr. Hikari had severe blunt force trauma. Chaud's surgery took the longest, but now that he's out, we know they're all going to be okay."

April put her hands to her face and breathed deeply, letting tears leak slowly from the corners of her eyes. _He's okay… Chaud's okay… he made it…_

Dr. Cossack tapped the corner of the screen. April rubbed her eyes and looked up at him.

"I'll be heading home now," he said, putting his hand flat on the screen. "Come see me when you have time. I'll be working on the problem of how to get you back to your body."

April put her hand flat on her side of the screen, right on top of his. "I'll come by soon, once I figure out how to move around the Net."

Dr. Cossack laughed. "Good, good. See you soon, my dear."

"Bye Grandpa."

He waved, and rolled out the door.

April grabbed her Navi's shoulder. "Help me up, please."

He grabbed her under her arms and helped her to stand up. "You want to go see Chaud now, don't you."

She nodded. "Can you show me how to travel around the Net? Going between the Net and the PET was hard enough."

He smiled. "It's not so bad. Once you get the trick down, it's as easy as blinking."

-0-

Bass knelt on a data cube, breathing hard. He felt the area around his wound; his healing program had managed to repair some of it, but there was still a gaping hole in his side.

It hurt.

"Feh." This was nothing, not compared to what he felt before. And he would make it through, like he always did.

He sat down on the cube, letting his legs rest and trying to slow his breathing. It could take him up to a week to recover, but his program could run faster if he wasn't doing anything else. But there was still one thing more…

Reaching out to the Net, he began to write a small program. A shape formed under his fingers; when he finished, it solidified and filled with color. Bass grabbed his new cloak and pulled it over his head. Nodding to himself, he laid down to rest and recover.

-0-

Chaud woke slowly, his eyes heavy and his mind foggy. He took a deep breath, willing his mind to move faster. He blinked several times, and a soft light came into focus on the ceiling above him. He turned his head to the right, looking around the room. As he woke up more, he started to notice more sensations. Or lack of sensations.

His back felt sore, and he couldn't feel anything from his stomach down. He lifted his head, looking to make sure he still had a lower body. It was there, just numb. He leaned his head back on the pillow, sighing quietly and closing his eyes again.

"Chaud?"

He opened his eyes and looked to his right. There was no one in the room. But that had been April's voice. Was he imagining things?

"The monitor, Chaud."

He head felt suddenly heavy as he started to remember the last thing before he passed out in the lab. He had been hoping…

Requiem stared back at him with green eyes.

_Green…?_

"You're finally awake," Requiem said in April's voice, a smile breaking out on her face. "I'm so glad. It's been almost five hours since the surgery."

Chaud blinked stupidly, still slightly drugged. "Requiem…?"

The Navi's smile faded, and she looked down. "No. It's April. Something went wrong somehow, and I was fused into Requiem's body."

Chaud wanted to close his eyes and be put under again. "Oh." They were silent, not meeting each other's gaze. "Well, how did it happen?" Chaud finally asked.

"The Destiny Stream," April-Requiem said. "Requiem was being controlled, and I thought one way to break her of her control would be to fuse with her through the Destiny Stream." She shook her head, hair swishing behind her. "It almost worked too, but the program was destroyed before the fusion was complete. And then you shot up the box…" she trailed off, and sighed. "Grandpa and Lan and Dingo are working on a way to transfer my consciousness back though."

"I… I see."

She peered intently at him, and he wished something would happen so he wouldn't have to look at her eyes—April's eyes in a Navi's body—anymore. "How are you feeling? The surgeon said he was able to remove all the bullets and stitch you up."

"Numb," Chaud said truthfully. "I can't feel anything below my rib cage."

"Makes sense," April-Requiem nodded. Her voice wavered slightly. "You did just go through major surgery after all…"

"Yeah…"

They were silent, not looking at each other. Then April took a deep breath, put her hands to her face, and _sobbed_.

"I'm so sorry Chaud! It's all my fault you're like this and that you got hurt. I should've listened to that man, then I wouldn't've gotten shot and wouldn't've tried to merge, and now you're going to be here for weeks and I'm going to be stuck in the Net forever and we'll never be able to get married and I should've _listened!_"

"April!" Chaud shouted over her crying, shocked at the sudden outburst. It was weird to see a Navi actually shed tears. "April, April! Calm down!" He reached out, fingertips barely able to brush the monitor. "April, listen to me. Hey, hey, look at me." She sniffed, and tilted her head up to just meet his eyes.

"Listen to me April," Chaud said, trying to found firm and comforting at the same time. "This isn't your fault at all. You had no choice about what that man decided to do. There was no way you could've known what was going on in his mind. And you had no control over what I did either. I got angry, and shot at him first; it's my own fault that I'm lying here in this bed. Even if you had been awake in your own body, the outcome probably would've been the same." He kept his fingers on the edge of the monitor. April sniffed again.

"We're going to fix these things, okay? It might take some time, but I'll work as hard as I can to get you back to normal. I'll wait until that time, and we will be able to get married, okay?"

She sniffed and nodded.

"Good." Chaud leaned back, his arm heavy and feeling exhausted. "The first thing I'm going to do when everything is back to normal is give you the world's biggest hug, okay?"

"Okay." Her voice was shaky, but she sounded under control of her emotions again. "Sorry for freaking out like that."

He smiled at her. "It's understandable. Don't worry about it." His eyes drooped closed, and he forced them open again. "I guess the drugs aren't completely out of my system yet… I'm exhausted, so I'm going to sleep. Maybe I'll be able to feel my legs when I wake up."

April gave him a watery smile. "Okay. Get some rest Chaud. I'll be here when you wake up."

"Good."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Chaud closed his eyes, smiling, and almost instantly fell asleep.

* * *

><p>THE FLUFF WAS COMING. YOU KNEW THE FLUFF WAS COMING.<p>

While I've never been put under complete anesthesia, I _have_ had major surgery on my abdominal area (yay for surprise c-sections!), and so have had an epidural. And let me tell you, that's one of the most blissful and strange feelings ever. From the time I got the epidural to the time I was able to kinda walk again (with help) was over 48 hours. The drugs lasted a full day after my surgery—this is why I'm assuming it would take Chaud hours to wake up from the general anesthesia.

Also: rational thought, meet the female mind. We don't have to have a rational reason to cry. EVER. And don't let anybody tell you otherwise.

*nod*

Next time!

things get fixed! OR DO THEY?

DUN DUN DUN

**Leave a review please!**

As a random note, I now have a twitter account (yes, I've finally joined the 21st Century). Follow me pharaohsqueen89 for real-time fic updates, weekly writing prompts, and general shenanigans.


	18. Realization

Chapter 17

"Realization"

Black. All black. Empty, dark… black.

Requiem floated in an endless void, only slightly aware of the black around her. Several times, the black pulsed, as though someone was trying to speak with her, but she ignored it, floating still in the endless void.

_How… did I get here?_

The black wavered with the memories. Dragonman. The control program. The failed fusion with her creator. Bass. The Grave Virus Beast. The arm tearing her apart.

And killing. The never ending killing.

_Me. That was me. I killed all those Navis. Those Navis who were just trying to stop my rampage… I had no control…_

_ But I __**wanted **__to kill… I __**enjoyed**__ it…_

_ Bass was right…_

"Requiem! Requiem!"

She twitched, aware of the sensation of movement. Who was calling her name? Why would they need a heartless killer like her?

"Come on Requiem; don't fail on me now…"

That voice… different from the first… a male. Familiar. Both voices were. But who…?

A jolt coursed through her body. And another, quick on the heels of the first. She gasped, eyes flying open. The sensation of falling… falling through the endless black…

With a burst of light, Requiem became aware of the pain. It felt as though someone was trying to suck her entire program through a straw, or like they were trying to rip her apart from the inside. There was another jolt, and the world flashed into being before her eyes.

An old man grinned down at her from a screen, eyes familiar and sparkling. Blue rings passed over her vision—a healing program.

"Requiem?"

That voice. That was the voice that called her while she was in the black. She looked over and saw a tall Navi, purple hair reaching in a ponytail to his waist, purple-black gloved hands clenched at his side, and bright green eyes staring at her.

"Nocturne?"

A grin split his face, though there was a hint of sadness in his eyes. "It worked!" He turned to the old man on the screen. "How's April, Dr. Cossak?"

Dr. Cossak—Bass' creator!—turned away from the screen, adjusting the level so they could see a hospital bed behind him. April twitched and stirred, then groaned.

"Ah geez… I _never_. Want. To do that again."

Mystified, Requiem cleared her throat. "What happened?"

Dr. Cossack turned back to her, friendly smile still on his face. "You, my dear, had the, ehrm, interesting experience of being the first Navi to mentally meld with a human."

Requiem blinked. "Meld… the Destiny Stream?"

Dr. Cossack nodded. "Precisely. When the program was destroyed, it ripped apart your program and April's consciousness. April wasn't able to return to her own body, and was trapped with you. From what she told me, you were somehow put on standby while she was there."

Requiem nodded. That explained the black void. "I see. Thank you for returning me to normal, Dr. Cossack."

One of his white eyebrows rose. "How do you know who I am?"

She tapped her forehead. "I have access to Bass' and April's memories doctor. Once Nocturne said your name, filling in the blanks was easy."

He chuckled, shaking his head. "Astounding. You are almost exactly as I had hoped you would be. It's an honor to finally meet you, Requiem."

She gave him a small smile. The blue healing rings obscured his face for a moment. "And I am just as pleased to meet you."

"Grandpa?"

Dr. Cossack turned to April, rolling his wheelchair over to her bed and speaking with her. Requiem looked at the program around her. She waited a moment, reached out, and tapped it. The lines disappeared, and she dropped to the ground.

"Requiem, what are you doing?"

She took a deep breath, keeping her face away from Nocturne. "I have to go, Nocturne. There's someone I need to find."

"Bass." There was no mistaking the quiet hurt in his voice.

"Yes." She took a deep breath. This was going to be painful.

She turned to face him, and looked in his eyes. Seeing the swirl of emotion there hurt as much as she had expected it to. "Understand me, Nocturne. I was programmed _specifically_ to be partners with Bass. There is nowhere in the Net, or the world, that I belong more than then at his side. That is where I am supposed to be."

He gazed in her eyes a moment more. She caught the flicker of something, and he turned away. "Could you at least say good-bye to April? And maybe come back to visit every once in a while?"

She nodded. "I will try." Requiem walked to the screen. "April?"

Her creator turned towards the screen. "Yeah?"

Requiem started to lift a hand to put it on the screen, then she let it fall back to her side. "I need to leave. I need to return to my purpose. Nocturne wished me to tell you good-bye."

April closed her eyes and sighed. "I see." She opened her eyes, and Requiem blinked in shock. Her creator's eyes had turned red—the same murderous red as Bass'.

The same shade hers had been.

"Will we see you again?"

The question broke into her thoughts. "Yes, I'm very sure you will," she said, giving her creator a small smile. "I can't say when, I just know that this isn't the final good-bye."

April nodded, returning the smile. "Until then. See you later Requiem."

"Until then."

Requiem turned to go, and caught sight of Nocturne watching her. His face was impassive, but his eyes… she couldn't leave him looking at her like that.

"I will see you later too, Nocturne," she said, walking over to put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm… sorry for the things I did to you."

He shrugged, looking away. "Well, you didn't really have control of yourself, did you?"

"No," she said darkly. "But that is something I will work on."

"Good." He put a hand on her shoulder. "Take care Requiem."

"You too." She hesitated, then leaned forward and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. "Thank you."

His face turned red, and she logged out, heading towards the part of the Net where her partner was waiting.

-0-

April sighed again. "I guess that's that."

"You heard her," Nocturne said, his voice sounding thick, as though he was trying to talk around something in his throat. "She'll be back."

"She will," Dr. Cossack confirmed. "You can trust her word."

April was spared response by the sound of the door opening. Chaud limped in, grinning despite the obvious pain.

"Chaud!"

"Glad to see you're you again," he said, limping over to the chair by her bed.

"You're still not recovered?"

"The doctor said it'd take about six weeks for my stitches to fully dissolve," he said, lifting up his shirt and showing her the scar. "It's been four, and the ones on my skin are gone, but the stuff inside…" he winced. "They pull at my innards when they dissolve."

She traced a finger along the c-shaped scar on his waist. "That must hurt."

"As long as I don't do anything too strenuous, it's not that bad."

She giggled. "You're so funny."

"I know."

Dr. Cossack glanced over at the screen with Nocturne on it, and April saw her grandfather give her Navi a wink. "I'll be heading out now," Dr. Cossack said, "it's time for me to take my pills and, like a true old person, I forgot them at home."

Everyone laughed, and he wheeled out of the room. "Bye Grandpa!" April called. He waved to them through the window, and rolled down the hall.

Chaud put his hand on tops of April's, pulling it away from his body and lowering his shirt. "I'm glad you're back to normal."

"Me too," she said, leaning back on the pillow.

"How're you feeling?"

"Exhausted." She rubbed her eye with her free hand. "Being a Navi is hard work."

"I can imagine," he said dryly.

"But you know," she gave his hand a squeeze, "there's nothing quite like being a human. Weak and pathetic, sure, but I love it." Chaud squeezed her hand in return.

-0-

Nocturne turned away from the screen, a hollow feeling in his middle.

'_There's nothing quite like being a human…'_

He pulled out his cyberboard and logged out of the hospital's Net, taking off and flying over the general Net, not paying attention to where he was really going. He just… had to get away.

That month with April, when she had been in Requiem's body… it had been so conflicting, and yet the time of clearest thought— and easily the best time of his life.

April… and Requiem…

He shook his head. _Loyalty. That's what it is. I'm loyal to April, just like Requiem is loyal to Bass. There's no other feelings here… no other feelings to get in the way of how I feel about my NetOp…_

As he flew around the Net, wet spots streaked from his eyes. He ignored them, concentrating on his flying.

_I hope you were happy during your time with me. I hope you remember it fondly. And even though… even though we can't live in the same world, I'll always be there for you April._

_ I'll always find a way to make you happy._

* * *

><p>D'AWWW NOCTURNE. STOP KILLING MY FEELS.<p>

Don't ask me to explain how April managed to get back into her body. I have absolutely no idea myself.

Short chapter is short. NaNo is almost over. *shrugs* nothing else to say, really.

Next time!

Epilogue

**Leave a review please!**


	19. Epilogue: Return

Epilogue

"Return"

Requiem zoomed around the UnderNet, newly created shield cloak flapping around her frame. Her eyes darted back and forth, searching for someone…

There he was, lying on top of a data cube. Requiem flew over and landed next to him, her cloak rustling quietly.

"Bass?"

He didn't answer.

Requiem reached out, placing two fingers on his forehead. He was in complete healing mode; the program had almost run its course.

She would wait.

She sat with one leg under her, the other up and propping up her arm. She kept an eye out, though if someone hadn't bothered Bass in the month he had been on standby, no one was likely to now.

Several hours passed, and she finally heard the stirring of her partner behind her. She knelt next to him, waiting until he opened his eyes.

"Welcome back," she said.

His fiery red eyes narrowed. "And you?"

"I'm myself."

He looked at her a moment longer, then sat up. "Good."

The sat in silence for a while, Requiem watching the surrounding Net, Bass booting up all the programs he had shut down to heal.

"I'm sorry Bass," she blurted out.

He glanced at her, then looked away. "Next time, I won't go so easy on you."

She grinned into her cloak. "I won't hold back either."

They fell silent again, each thinking their own thoughts.

"You've changed," Bass finally said.

"Well, yes."

He shook his head. "Look at yourself."

Frowning, she reached forward with a hand, creating a small mirror program. She looked at her reflection, frown deepening. What was different about—?

Her eyes. They were green.

April's eyes.

She stared at her reflection, shock rippling through her.

"Have you realized who you are?"

His voice brought her back to the present. "I am who I am," she said, closing the mirror. "I am a killer. I am a part of you. I am part human. But I am my own being. My own independent being."

Bass stood. "Never lose sight of that, and no one will control you ever again. Come."

He took off flying, and Requiem followed.

Change had come to the pair once again, and they adapted to it.

Like they always did.

THE END

* * *

><p>Next time: author's thoughts<p>

**Leave a review please!**


	20. Author's Final Thoughts

Author's Final Thoughts

Wow. The second half of that story is short. Short chapters. A lot shorter than normal, I feel. But eh. They did what they had to.

At the moment I'm first typing this (as opposed to when it will appear on the interwebz), there's still a week left in NaNoWriMo, and I'm so much further than I was any other the other years I've participated. (Addendum added later: I actually did manage to make it past 50k… my final word count was 52,485! WOOOOOOO) It was during NaNo two years ago (2011) that I started this story. It took me two years to write Requiem's Awakening, and now two years to write Requiem's Return.

…

I'm hoping to get faster.

I feel now that I've told all of Requiem's story that needs to be told. She, April, and Nocturne were fun characters to create, write, and explore. I'm glad I wrote this and had the chance to get to know them better, especially Requeim. I loved exploring emotions and feelings with her, and I hope you all have enjoyed taking the journey with her as much as I did.

Will I write another story with them? Hard to say at this point. When I finished Requiem's Awakening, I wasn't planning on writing another multi-chapter story with these characters, so maybe things will change a couple of years from now.

Thanks for sticking with me for all this time, my readers. You truly make my day when I find a review or even just another follower. It makes me happy to know I can entertain people with my writing, and make them happy, even just for a little while.

Until next time, my friends.

Keep writing.

PharaohsQueen


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